"'Where are we?" Ron asked, the first one to regain his senses. We were on a dark, secluded street in the middle of London. Fred was gripping Angelina tightly, Angelina had her hand on George's shoulder, George was holding my hand in a vise grip, I was holding Harry's shoulder, and he was holding Ron's arm. We all let go of each other at once and turned towards each other, leaning in without thought.
"Tottenham Court Road," I gasped, already tugging George and Harry beside me. "Walk, just walk, we need to find somewhere for you guys to change." I said, searching the street desperately as we walked. The others were right behind us and we walked down the street, an extremely conspicuous group.
"Hermione, we haven't got anything to change into," Ron said, catching up to me. I shook my head as a woman laughed when she saw us. We needed to find a place to hide and we needed it now.
"Why didn't I make sure I had the Invisibility Cloak with me?" Harry lamented, "All last year I kept it on me and –"
"It's okay, I've got the Cloak, I've got clothes for both of you," I said, glancing down an alley way. It might work, nobody was down it at least. "Just try and act naturally until – this will do." I said, pulling them into the alley.
"When you say you've got the Cloak, and clothes . . ." Harry continued, frowning at me as I led us into a small shelter in the alley. He was looking at me doubtingly, his eye on my tiny bag. He'd get a kick out of this.. I reached into the bag, answering his question as I rummaged through it. "Yes, they're here," I pulled out four pair of jeans, four sweaters, four tennis shoes, four woolen socks, and the silvery invisibility cloak, handing each guy their clothes. George and Fred, knowing what I had done, simply took the clothes and thanked me. Ron and Harry were staring at me in utter shock and poor Angelina was shivering in the cool evening air.
"We'll have to change later, find a bathroom or something." I told Angelina, digging around in my bag for a jacket.
"How the ruddy hell – ?" Ron began, holding his clothes in shock.
"Undetectable Extension Charm," I answered, taking Fred's bundled up robe and shoving it into the bag. "Tricky, but I think I've done it okay; anyway, I managed to fit everything we need in here." I gave the little bag a shake and a loud clang sounded inside. Great, there went the books. . I took George's robe and shoved them into the bag along with Fred's. ". . Harry, you'd better take the Invisibility cloak" I said, realizing he was still standing there staring at my bag in fascination.
"When did you do all this?" Harry asked as he stripped off his robe and pulled his sweater on. I handed Angelina a jacket as I pulled one around my own shoulders.
"I told you at the Burrow, I've had the essentials packed for days, you know, in case we needed to make a quick getaway. I packed your rucksack this morning, Harry, after you changed, and put it in here. . . . I just had a feeling. . . ." I hadn't wanted to say anything to anyone, but I'd been worried we wouldn't get through the wedding. I could feel George's eyes on me as I grabbed Harry's robes.
"You're amazing, you are," Ron said, handing me his bundled-up robes. I managed a small smile as I sealed the bag and took a deep breath.
"Thanks, George and Fred helped a lot. Harry, please put that cloak on!" Harry nodded his head, still looking shocked as he threw the cloak around his shoulders.
"Come on now, we need to get out of here." I stepped up to George and wrapped my arm around his waist before he laid his arm on my shoulder. Fred grabbed hold of Angelina and Ron stepped in between us, Harry moved to my left and then we started down the alley.
"Why'd you pick here?" Angelina asked as we started back down the street.
"I don't know, it was the first place I thought of." I answered honestly.
"Shouldn't we find a less exposed place?" Ron asked, looking around. I nodded my head in agreement, we were far too exposed.
"But where should we go?" I asked, cringing when a group of drunken men across the street wolf whistled at Angelina and me.
"Well, we can't go to the Cauldron, any muggle hotels?" George asked, glaring at the men across the street along with Fred.
"No, they wouldn't work, I'd say Grimmauld place but with Snape… Oh, I wish they'd stop!" I said, my voice breaking. The drunken men kept whistling, and now they were walking towards us. I clutched George's hand a little tighter when the began to talk.
"Hey darlins" they called, staggering towards us. "Fancy a drink?" I trembled and leaned into George, not even able to relax when he wrapped his arm around me protectively. Fred and him had stopped walking, turning towards the drunk men with murderous looks on their faces. This was so not the time for this to be happening. We needed to keep a low profile, not get into a fight with drunken men. I didn't want George to fight them, I didn't want him to get hurt at all, especially not over me.
"In here!" Angelina exclaimed, pulling Fred with her towards a rundown café. It looked old and ill cared for, but at least it was some sort of shelter. I nodded my head in agreement with her and pulled George with me. He followed begrudgingly, still glaring daggers at the drunk men. The inside of the café wasn't any better looking than the outside, but at least the drunk men stopped following us. We took a booth in the furthest corner, Ron, Fred, and Angelina on one side, Harry, George, and I on the other. We sat silently for a moment, looking at each other uncomfortably. What could we say, everything had just fallen apart around us and we'd had to leave everyone we loved. Who knew what had happened to them… they could all be in danger right now.
"What can I get you?" a short, blonde spiky haired, gum chewing waitress came up to our table and eyed us distastefully. Everyone looked at me expectantly. I sighed before turning back to her.
"Five cappuccinos, please." I said after a moment. I had almost ordered six, but then I remembered that Harry was invisible. She shuffled away grumpily, mumbling to herself as she went to get the drinks.
"What do you thinks happening?" Ron asked, looking around the café uneasily.
"We know what's happened, Voldemort's taken over the ministry." I said, clutching my bag in my hand and setting it between Harry and me.
"What should we do now?" I asked to no one in particular. I clutched George's hand under the table, wanting his reassuring presences. He grasped my hand, squeezing it as he looked down at me.
"I say we go with the original plan. Head out to the country and camp out while we search for the horcruxes." He said the last bit in a whisper as two burly construction workers squeezed into the booth behind ours.
"Here you go." The waitress said, winking at Fred and George as she set the drinks down. Angelina and I glared at her and she walked away looking indifferent. Ron, not having noticed the winking or glaring, took a swig of his cappuccino and scrunched his face up in distaste.
"God, that's revolting!" He gasped, spluttering as he spoke. Fred and George coughed and set their drinks down, looking equally disgusted. Angelina just rolled her eyes as she took a drink. "Let's get out of here." Ron said, glaring at his drink with extreme distaste. "Have you got muggle money to pay for this?"
"Yes," I said, pulling my purse back up. Harry tensed beside me and I looked up just in time to see the construction workers draw their wands. I gasped and groped around my lap for my wand, knowing I would be too late.
"PROTEGO!" Harry shouted beside me, a shield sprung up behind Fred, Angelina, and Ron, deflecting the spells the two Death Eaters had cast. We dove out of the booth, already yelling out spells as the Death Eaters aimed at us. Spells started flying everywhere, Harry, still hidden in his cloak, sent a stunner at the taller of the death eaters and hit him full in the face. The huge death eater fell forward unconscious, hitting the floor with a resounding thud. The second death eater started throwing spells were Harry had been, but the six of us were far too much for him. He crumpled to the floor a moment later, unconscious as well.
We all stood up slowly, gasping and staggering as we regrouped. It looked like a bomb had gone off in the café. The booths were broken, chairs were strewn about, and there were burn marks all along the ceiling, walls, and floor. The waitress was nowhere to be seen, but she was the least of our worries.
"What happened?" I shrieked. I was past panicking, I was well into meltdown at this point. "How did they find us?" George grabbed my arms and held me away, scanning me up and down before pulling me into a tight hug.
"Bloody Hell!" Ron gasped, standing up from the booth he'd been using as a shield. "We need to get out of here!" I was crying hysterically, I'd lost all my composure the moment George had grabbed me.
Harry took his cloak off and walked up to the large blond death eater. "I should've recognized him, he was there the night Dumbledore died," he said, kicking him over with his foot.
"That's Dolohov," Ron said quietly, looking more calm.. "I recognize him from the old wanted posters. I think the big one's Thorfinn Rowle."
"Who cares?" I asked, my voice going up several octaves. "How did they find us?"
"Shh," George whispered, holding me tight. He rubbed circles into my back, rocking me gently and helping me calm down.
"Lock the door," Harry said, sounding oddly calm, "and Ron, turn out the lights."
He did, and a moment later we were all looking down at the Death Eaters.
"What should we do with them? Kill em? They'd have killed us." Ron said bitingly.
"No." Fred said simply, casting a charm at the windows that caused them to go foggy. "We're not killing anyone. We're not lowering ourselves down to their level."
"Wipe their memories." Harry said, stepping away from the Death Eater and turning towards me expectantly. "Do that memory charm on them 'Mione."
"I've never used it before." I said, stepping out of George's hold but maintaining my grip on his hand. I looked Harry in the eye and took a deep breath. "but I know the basic idea. I'll do it." I gripped my wand firmly in my hand and looked down at the Death Eater. I focused on the memories I wanted him to forget, and pointed my wand at his temple.
"Obliviate."
"Come on," George said, pointing his wand at the broken booth. "Let's clean up."
"Why?" Ron questioned.
"Won't it look a little odd if they wake up and find the place looking like this?" Angelina asked while she fixed a chair.
"Oh," Ron said, looking embarrassed. We all set to it and just a few minutes later we had the place all cleaned up.
"What now?" George asked, looking at Harry expectantly. Harry was staring at the unconscious Death Eaters with a determined look I'd seen far too many times. He was about to say something I wasn't going to like.
"Grimmauld Place." He said simply.
"What?" I asked, stepping toward him. "No way. Snape can get there, it's not safe!"
"Hermione we've got no choice! It's a place we all know, and if the Death Eaters could find us walking down a muggle street, they can find us anywhere!"
"What about Snape? He'd expect it!" I said, my voice growing squeaky.
"Mr. Weasley said that Moody had put up wards to stop Snape from getting in. We stand a good chance at getting in. I think we should go, have any of you got a better idea?"
No, I had no ideas. I was completely out of ideas. I was tired, sweaty, uncomfortable, and still dressed up for a wedding. I'd been attacked, blasted, chased, threatened, and now, my best friend was offering me a crazy solution to a problem we never should have had. We should not be on the run, we should not have to be finding a place to hide. Merlin's beard, Harry was right, it was the best solution.
"Fine." I said, cringing a little at how angry my voice sounded. "We go to Grimmauld Place." I reached over and grabbed Harry's hand. He grabbed Ron's who grabbed Angelina who grabbed Fred who grabbed George's. We all formed a circle and then I twisted, apparating to the last house I thought I'd wind up in. We landed on the steps of Grimmauld Place and quickly stepped forward. Harry tapped the door with his wand and it swung open, revealing the dark interior of Grimmauld Place. We stepped into the entryway, shivering as a breeze blew through the halls towards us.
"This place is creepy." Angelina said, looking around the place with distaste.
It looked just as it had last time I was here, cold, dark, and lonely. My eyes scanned the room quickly and I saw the umbrella stand, it was on its side.
"I think somebody's been in here," I whispered, pointing toward it. George straightened beside me, grabbing my hand and pulling me closer as his eyes scanned the dark. None of us moved, all standing in the door way fearfully.
"That could've happened as the Order left," Ron murmured, sounding completely unconvinced.
"So where are these jinxes they put up against Snape?" Harry asked, trying to change the subject, we still didn't move.
"Maybe they're only activated if he shows up?" Ron suggested, growing talkative as he always did when he was nervous. We still didn't move, growing more still if anything.
"Come on" Fred finally said, taking a small step forward. "What, are we expecting to see a ghost-"
"Severus Snape?" Mad-Eye Moody's voice whispered out of the darkness, we all jumped back in fright. I let out a scream, grabbing George and hiding in his side.
"We're not Snape!" Harry croaked, stumbling into the door. Something like cold air washed over me and my tongue curled backward so that I couldn't speak. Before I could do anything though, my tongue uncurled again. I bent over gagging, clutching George as he two made retching noises.
"That m-must have b-been the T-Tongue-Tying Curse Mad-Eye set up for Snape!" I stuttered, still trying to regain my breath from the curse. George gripped my side and helped me stand, breathing heavily.
"Wicked." He said, coughing slightly. Harry took another step forward and something in the shadows of the hall shifted. Before anyone could do anything a figure rose up out of the carpet. It was tall, dusty colored and horrible familiar. It had waist length hair, a long beard, and its face was fleshless, sunken and terrible. His eyes were hollow, his eye sockets empty. It was coming towards us faster and faster, it's terrible hands stretching towards us. I let out a scream, my heart thundering in my chest. George's arms encircled me and pulled me behind him, blocking me with his body.
"No!" Harry shouted out horrified. He raised his wand, but no spell came out of his wand. "No! It wasn't us! We didn't kill you-" On the word kill the figure seemed to explode in a cloud of dust. Harry turned around, coughing, and stared at us in shock. "It's all r-right…It's g-gone…" In the silence after the attacking figure, I suddenly became aware of Mrs. Blacks voice.
"Mudbloods, filth, stains of dishonor, taint of shame on the house of my fathers –" I cringed at the sound of her voice.
"SHUT UP!" Harry bellowed, directing his wand at her, and with a bang and a burst of red sparks, the curtains swung shut again, silencing her.
"So much for going unnoticed." Fred said, blinking in disbelief at the dissipating dust cloud.
"Is it normally this exciting here?" Angelina questioned, a small smile quirking her lips.
"That . . . that was . . . " I whimpered, stepping up beside George and wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
"Yeah," said Harry, "but it wasn't really him, was it? Just something to scare Snape." He took another step forward, shaking the dust off his robes.
"Wait!" I called, pulling my wand back out. "Before we go any farther, I think we'd better check," I raised my wand and took a deep breath. "Homenum revelio."
Nothing happened.
Thank Merlin, nothing happened.
We all moved into the living room, seeming to think it was the best room, even though no one actually said anything out loud. Harry sunk into a chair, gasping in pain as soon as he was seated.
"Harry?" I asked tentatively, he was rubbing his scar the way he always did when he saw something with Voldemort.
"What did you see?" Ron asked, turning towards Harry with a wild desperation in his eyes. "Did you see him at the Burrow?"
"No, I just felt anger – he's really angry –" Harry said, looking worried.
"But that could be at the Burrow," said Ron loudly. "What else? Didn't you see anything? Was he cursing someone?"
"No, I just felt anger – I couldn't tell –" He sounded confused, frightened. I couldn't blame him, he was using that blasted connection again. He wasn't supposed to be seeing or feeling Voldemort.
"Your scar, again? But what's going on? I thought that connection had closed!" I questioned, feeling panicky. George crossed the room and grabbed my hand, pulling me down onto a couch beside him. His touch helped calm me, helped me realize I was probably just irritating Harry.
"It did, for a while," Harry muttered, still rubbing his scar. "I – I think it's started opening again whenever he loses control, that's how it used to –"
"Is there anything we can do to make you feel better?" Angelina asked, stepping forward and grabbing a blanket off the back of our couch and handing it to Harry who looked cold and sick. He took it, smiling gratefully.
"No, it usually just fades away after awhile." He replied, his eyes flashing in pain. Fred pointed his wand at the lamp and it's light dimmed. Harry murmured his thanks, wrapping the blanket more securely around his shoulders. I shifted uncomfortably, it was creepy in the dark house. Moving on the couch brought something else to my attention though, I was still wearing the wedding clothes. I looked over at Angelina, she was sitting on a couch next to Fred, holding his hand and talking quietly about something.
I turned back to George, he looked tense and worried. I wanted so badly to comfort him, anyway I could, but nothing came to my mind. It wasn't my family we'd left, even though it honestly felt like they were. I laid my hand on his arm gently, and he turned his head towards me, a sad expression on his face. I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted. A bright silvery light flew into the room, landing in the middle of the floor and startling everyone. It reformed in the center of the room and took on the shape of a Weasel. It opened it's mouth and Mr. Weasley's familiar voice issued from it.
"Family safe, do not reply. We are being watched." The silver Weasel then disappeared, leaving behind a faint glow before that to faded. Ron let out a moan and sunk into a chair behind Harry, I tightened my grip on George and he leaned back into the cushion. I wrapped my arms around him and he leaned into me, burying his face in my neck. I held him tightly, rocking back and forth as tears of relief filled my own eyes.
"They're alright," I whispered, hardly daring to believe it. "They're okay."