After Harry has eaten all he could, which wasn't much, he put his dishes in the sink and left to the Cullen house. He raised his hand to knock but the door opened just when his knuckled touched the door. "Come in, Harry. We've been expecting you," Edward said. Harry walked into the house, it looked different from the house he had visited previously.
He walked towards the couch.
Now that he was there, he wasn't sure if it was the right choice to come, just when he was going to turn, a voice called out, "Harry, don't go."
He looked over and saw Ella standing by the corner wall. He took a moment to study her and realized that she was starting to age again, "Ella, why do you look older than you really are?"
"Have you forgotten about the Vow I made with your mother?" she asked. Harry remembered and gasped.
"What is it you're not telling me?" he asked.
"Follow me, Harry," she said as she motioned him to walk towards her. They walked towards the end of the hallway in silence. Harry was just about to lose his impatience when Ella opened the door and motioned for him to enter it.
He looked around the room and then said, "What is this room?"
"It's Edward's and my music room," she responded. "It's sound proof, so no one can hear what I need to tell you." She closed the door. "Harry, I have to apologize for all the secrecy but it's important that no one overhears what I have to tell you. If this past summer was any indication, it should tell you how few and far apart our visits will be for the upcoming year. I fear that the war is coming sooner than we think and Hogwarts, nor the Burrow or any other place you know is safe."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, as soon as he heard this, he could feel the fear in her voice.
"Hogwarts is not the same since Dumbledore died—"
"I know that," Harry interrupted. Ella looked at him sharply and Harry looked contrite.
"Professor McGonagall was supposed to be the Headmistress because of his death but somehow the Board overturned her and Snape is the Headmaster now."
"That can't happen!"
"I know my family, the other teachers are doing what they can to make sure that Snape doesn't get the position but the Board isn't listening. I fear that Voldemort has influenced them," she explained.
"But how?" Harry asked.
"Most likely by promising them money or power or both," she responded. "Not only that, the Volturi is working with them. Edward and I are the only ones staying here. My family left last night to gather forces to join our side. Our allies are few and far between. I'm not even sure as to how I'm going to help you find the Horcruxes but I'm gonna try. During the night, I've managed to somehow gain a private entrance and exit to Hogwarts. Just before his death, Dumbledore assured me that he has left clues there and I'm going to do all that I can to find them and pass them on. Edward is going to focus on recruiting and supplying resources for the vampire army. What you need to focus on is finding the Horcruxes and destroying them," she told him. Once she confessed what she learned, she felt younger. Harry looked at her and noticed a considerable physical change in her which made her look her 17 year old self. "Once I find them, I'll do what I can to find you. Hermione and I have been working on an itinerary on some sort, so that there may be a way for us to keep in touch, okay?" Harry nodded. He felt somewhat better hearing this. She opened the door and saw Edward's worried face. "Love, what is it?"
"The Minister of Magic is here and he wishes to see you," Edward explained as he looked at Harry. Edward moved away, so that both of them could walk out into the hallway. Edward took Ella's hand and led Harry to the Burrow.
Once they got into the sitting area, Harry sat in between Hermione and Ron and asked, "To what do we owe the pleasure, Minister?"
"I think we both know the answer to that question, Mr. Potter," he answered.
"And that is…?"
Scrimgeour opened his briefcase and took out a parchment, opened it and read it, "'Herein is set forth the last will and testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. First, to Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, a device of my own making, in hope that, when things seem most dark, it will show him the light.'" He gave it to Ron, who in turn accepted it.
"Dumbledore left this to me?"
"Yes," he simply answered.
"Brilliant," he said, unsure as to what it was and then asked, "What is it?" he flicked it opened and the light from the lamp went inside the device and immediately closed. He opened it again and the lamp was relit. "Wicked."
He continued to read "'To Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in hopes that she find it entertaining and instructive.'" Hermione took the book and thumbed through it.
"Mom used to read me those," Ron commented. He looked at Harry and Hermione who were just sitting there, looking a bit confused, he babbled on, "'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot.' 'Babbity Rabbity and the Cackling Stump.' Come on, Babbity Rabbity. No?" He stopped talking when either one of them didn't say anything.
Scrimgeour decided to continue reading the will at that point, "'To Harry James Potter, I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill.'" Harry took the golden ball and a smile ghosted his lips as he remembered his first match.
"Is that it, then?" Harry asked.
"Not quite. Dumbledore left you a second bequest: The Sword of Godric Gryffindor. Unfortunately, the Sword of Gryffindor was not Dumbledore's to give away. As an important historical artifact, it belongs—"
"To Harry," Hermione interrupted. "It belongs to Harry. It came to him when he needed it in the Chamber of Secrets."
"The sword may present itself to any worthy Gryffindor," he patiently told her. "That does not make it that wizard's property. And, in any event, the current whereabouts of the sword are unknown."
"Excuse me?" Ella asked. This was the first time she's heard of the sword being missing. The last she heard, it was safe at the castle.
Scrimgeour looked at her and felt bad for the cause of the confusion, "The sword is missing," he clarified. He looked back at Harry and said, "I don't know what you're up to, Mr. Potter but you can't fight this war on your own. He's too strong. I won't pretend to be your friend, Mr. Potter. But I'm not your enemy."
"Forgive me minister, but it's a little hard to tell the difference now-a-days," he responded respectfully. At that moment, the Minister packed up his briefcase, stood up and looked pointedly at Edward, who in turn spoke at vampire speed to Ella. Ella looked at the Minister and nodded. The trio looked at each other, wondering what's going on. At that moment, the Minister left.
"What was that all about?" Ron asked.
"Nothing to concern yourself about, Ron," Ella reasoned. "Besides, you should be helping your family right now with the wedding." Ron conceded and left the room to join the rest of his family. "Come, we shouldn't fixate over these issues. It's time for celebration." They spent a majority of the morning and the afternoon, getting the decorations up. Despite the fact that he was helping with the decorations, at times he felt himself being distracted by what he learned from Ella. He knew that there weren't enough resources to go around helping everyone fight against Voldemort and he knew that he had to face him alone but he wasn't sure if he was strong enough or wise enough to fight him. One thing he knew for sure was that he had to face him, regardless of the consequences. He couldn't eat much at all, after much insistence from Molly but he ate as much as his stomach could allow which wasn't much. He spent some time at the Cullen house, getting ready. It was much quieter there than the Weasley house, which was comprehensible considering all of the wedding chaos going on. He needed time to himself to gather his thoughts. He was trying to figure out when the best time to leave without Ron and Hermione knowing.
There was a knock on the door and it opened ajar before a familiar face made its appearance, "Ginny."
"Miss Cullen and I thought you could use some company," she said, as she entered the room. She immediately took notice of Harry's struggle with his tie. She helped him with it. If it was anyone's company that he appreciated, it was Ginny. She seemed to know what he was thinking and didn't feel the need to voice any insecurity. He knew that she was patient and understanding enough that he will tell her when he was ready. If anything, it made him fall for her even more. He wondered if this was what all of the couples go through in a relationship.
He didn't even remember much of the ceremony itself but one thing was for sure, he was thinking about seeing Ginny in her white dress as she walked down the aisle with her father on their wedding day. Shortly, he dismissed the idea as he was thinking about the task at hand and how he was going to find the horcruxes as he entered the tent. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going before he bumped into Luna, "Hello Harry. I've interrupted a deep thought, didn't I? I can see it growing smaller in your eyes," she said as she noticed how far away he looked.
"Of course not," he said, doing what he could to dismiss what she just commented. "How are you, Luna?"
"Very well. Got bitten by a garden gnome only moments ago," she said as she picked on her finger.
"Gnome saliva is very beneficial," a voice called out. He stuck his hand out towards Harry, "Xenophilius Lovegood. We live just over the hill"
"Pleasure to meet you," Harry accepted his handshake.
"I trust you know, Mr. Potter, that we at The Quibbler, unlike those toadies at The Daily Prophet, fully supported Dumbledore in his lifetime and in his death, support you just as fully," he informed him.
"Thank you," he said politely.
"Come, daddy. Harry doesn't want to talk to us right now. He's just too polite to say so," Luna said. Harry wasn't sure as to how Luna had knew him that well to break the ice for him.
Harry was looking around and saw the one person who he needed to talk to. He went up to him and said, "Excuse me, sir? May I sit down?"
"Mr. Potter," he said the moment he recognized who was talking, "By all means. Here," he pointed to a chair.
"Thanks," he said and then continued on, "I found what you wrote in The Daily Prophet really moving. You obviously knew Dumbledore well."
"Well, I certainly knew him the longest. That is, if you don't count his brother, Aberforth and somehow, people never do seem to count Aberforth," Elphias commented.
"I didn't even know he had a brother," Harry said.
"Ah. Well, Dumbledore was always very private, even as a boy," Elphias said, in understanding.
"Don't despair, Elphias," Muriel interrupted. "I'm told he's been thoroughly unriddled by Rita Skeeter in 800 pages, no less. Word has it that someone talked to her. Someone who know the Dumbledore family well. Both you and I know who that is, Elphias."
"A monstrous betrayal," Elphias retorted.
"What are we talking about?" Harry inquired.
"Bathilda Bagshot," Muriel answered.
"Who?" he asked.
"My God, boy," she was astonished by his lack of understanding. "She's only the most celebrated magical historian of the last century. She was as close to the Dumbledores as anyone. Oh, I'm sure Rita Seeker thought it as well worth a trip to Godric's Hollow to take a peek into that old bird's rattled cage."
"Godric's Hollow?" Harry repeated. "Bathilda Bagshot lives at Godric's Hollow?"
"Well, that's where she first met Dumbledore," Muriel remarked.
"You don't mean to say he lived there too?" he asked.
"The family moved there after his father killed those three Muggles. Oh, it was quite the scandal. Honestly, my boy, are you sure you knew him at all?" she questioned.
At that moment, Kingsley had Apparated to the wedding and shouted, "The Ministry has fallen. The Minister of Magic is dead. They are coming. They are coming. They are coming," and left. Everyone immediately started to run in all directions. Some were Disapparating, some stayed, brought their wands out and were ready to fight against anyone who dared to come. Death Eaters were starting to appear and fight ensued.
"Nice meeting you, Mr. Potter," Elphias said and Disapparated.
Harry looked around and couldn't find Ginny anywhere. "Ginny!" he called out, trying to find her.
Ella saw what he was doing and blocked his way. No sooner did she block his way, Ron and Hermione came up behind him, "Harry!"
"What's happening?" he asked.
"It's happening," she told him. She looked at the three of them, "We'll see each other again, that I promise. Now, go! Go!" Harry looked behind him and saw his two best friends behind him. "Go!" All three of them, linked hands and Disapparated. When the appeared, they almost got hit by a bus, luckily no one got hurt. Once they felt safe, they immediately started walking.
"Where are we?" Harry asked as they were trying to fight against the foot traffic.
"Shattesbury Avenue," Hermione asked. "I used to come to the theater here with mom and dad. I don't know why I thought of it. It just popped into my head. This way. We need to change," she said as she led the three of them into a well-lit private alley. She opened her purse and grabbed the clothes out of it.
"How the ruddy…?" Ron asked.
"Undetectable Extension Charm," Hermione answered.
"You're amazing, you are!" Ron remarked.
"Always the tone of surprise," she said and then heard a loud thud from her purse, "Ah, that'll be the books."
"What about all the people at the wedding? Do you think we should go back?" he asked as he started to change his clothes.
"They were after you. We'd put everyone in danger by going back," Ron answered.
"Ron's right," Hermione said. After changing their clothes, they walked into a small café, fortunately for all three of them, no customer was there.
The waitress went up to them with a notepad in hand and asked, "Coffee?"
"A cappuccino, please," Hermione asked.
"You?" she asked as she looked at Ron.
"What she said," Ron replied, unsure as to what to say.
"Same," he said before the waitress could say anything.
"So where do we go from here?" he questioned as soon as the waitress left to make the drinks. "Leaky Cauldron?"
"It's too dangerous. If Voldemort's really taken over the Ministry, none of the old places are safe. Everyone from the wedding will have gone underground, into hiding," Hermione said.
"My rucksack with all my things, I've left it at the Burrow," he said but when he looked at Hermione, he was beginning to realize that what Ella was saying was true. "You're joking."
"I've had all the essentials packed for days, just in case," Hermione said. "Miss Cullen… I mean, Ella has helped me prepare. She asked me to give you some things but only when we've, for the lack of a better word, settled, just the three of us."
"That's what she meant," he replied softly.
"What are you talking about, Harry?" Hermione said.
"It's just that she informed me that you two were discussing stuff, coordinating schedules," Harry answered.
"Yeah, we both knew that you'd want to see her from time to time, so, we were both talking about innumerable circumstances and timing and all of the places that we thought would be safe for all of us to meet," she answered. "It wasn't easy but we managed to figure something out." Harry nodded, somewhat relieved that he was able to have some support, regardless of distance. No sooner did she finish her comment, two men walked in, pretending to look at the menu.
"By the way, these jeans, not my favorite," Ron commented
Not a moment too soon, the two men turned around, with wands at hand, Harry shouted, "Down!" The three of them ducked down. Harry managed to lift the table and set it on its side and used it as a defense tactic. Ron and Hermione fought back. All three of them managed to knock the other two unconscious. The three of them stood up, just in time to see the waitress come back out from the kitchen and immediately left after seeing the mess. Harry looked around and took control of the situation, "Lock the door, get the lights," Hermione immediately closed the door at the same time that Ron used his Deluminator and took the lights out. They walked up to the bodies and Harry recognized one of them, "This one's name is Rowie. He was on the Astronomy Tower the night Snape killed Dumbledore."
"This is Dolohov," Ron said as he stood next the second body, with his wand in hand, pointing it at Dolohov. "I recognize him from the wanted posters. So, what are we gonna do with you, hey? Kill us if it was turned around, wouldn't you?"
"If we kill him, they'll know we were here," Harry told him.
"Ron," Hermione said, as she pushed his hand away from the body.
"Suppose he did Mad-Eye. How would you feel then?" he asked as he looked at Hermione.
"It's better we wipe their memories," Harry said.
"You're the boss. Hermione, you're the best at spells," Ron replied.
Hermione pointed her wand at Dolohov, "Obliviate." She did the same for Rowie. They left it as it was and left through the back door. They decided that it was best to walk along the crowds of people because they knew that the wizard world could not expose themselves to the Muggles.
"How is it they knew we were there?" Harry asked.
"Maybe you still have the Trace on you?"
"Can't be. Trace breaks at 17. It's wizarding law," Ron recalled.
Harry saw Hermione's expression, "What?"
"We didn't celebrate your birthday, Harry. Ginny and I... we'd prepared a cake. We were going to bring it out at the end of the wedding," Hermione confessed.
"Hermione... I appreciate the thought, honestly. But given that we were almost killed by a couple of Death Eaters a few minutes ago..." Harry strayed off.
"Right. Perspective," Hermione said.
"We need to get off the streets, get somewhere safe," Ron said. They found somewhere a bit private where no one can see what they were going to do. Once they did, they linked hands and Disapparated.