What? A new chapter? That's crazy talk!
I didn't realize how many people actually still cared about this story until recently, and I finally had the motivation to finish the next chapter! (Scatters of applause)
It's okay to hate me right now. I hate myself, actually. I know I totally went on, like, a year-long (or more) hiatus or something and ditched you guys, again. But I'll do my best to make time around my schedule, so I hope I still have some followers left out there!
Disclaimer: Odontophobia is the fear of teeth. How's that for a nice little random fact? …What, you weren't expecting an actual disclaimer, were you?
…
All at once, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Or maybe it was just Levina that was in slow motion. Either way, her brain felt blurry and she couldn't think straight.
Harry, Levina, and Hermione jumped to their feet and drew their wands. Many people were only just realizing that something strange had happened; heads were still turning toward the silver cat as it vanished. Silence spread outward in cold ripples from the place where the Patronus had landed. Then somebody screamed.
Levina threw herself into the panicking crowd, her hair flying behind her, as Hermione and Harry ran in two other directions.
"Ron!" Hermione screamed.
Levina tore through the throng of people, pushing and shoving against the witches and wizards as her mind clicked into place. "Fred!" she hollered, over the commotion now arising. "Fred!"
Guests were sprinting in all directions; many were Disapparating; the protective enchantments around the Burrow had broken.
As they pushed their way across the dance floor, Levina saw cloaked and masked figures appearing in the crowd; then she saw Lupin and Tonks, their wands raised, and heard both of them shout, "Protego!", a cry that was echoed on all sides—
"Fred!" Levina shouted desperately, her voice breaking. Where was he? What had happened to him? What was going on?
Levina tripped in her heels and landed on her face, scraping her cheek against the ground and skinning her knees. In their haste to get away, someone accidentally kicked her. Then another person. And another.
Frightened of being trampled by the panicking mob, Levina used the palms of her hands to force herself to her feet. Her head was pounding so loudly that it hurt and made her dizzy. The fleeing people around her were slightly blurred.
As her vision cleared a little, she could see Hermione and Harry weaving about through the crowd, shouting someone else's name. Ron's again? It was nearly impossible to make out any distinct voices in the jumble, over all the screams, curses, and spells.
Suddenly, her eye came to rest on a familiar redheaded boy navigating his way through the mob, looking around wildly, his expression panicked. Straining as hard as she could with her canine ears, she could make out two names he was shouting:
"George! Levina!"
"Fred! Fred, over here!" Levina cried, relieved to see him. She bolted into the crowd after him, shoving more of the panicking wizards out of her way. She had to get to him—she had to—
"Levina!" Fred saw her coming, and he changed directions toward her, plowing into her side with all his weight. He grasped her tightly around the shoulders and grabbed her up into a sloppy and quick—but passionate nonetheless—kiss.
Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes as she hungrily pressed her lips into his, overcome with relief that they were together now; that was all she needed. If she was with Fred, then everything would be okay. "What's happening?" Levina sobbed, feeling panicky, pathetic, and frightened all at the same time.
"I don't know—calm down, we're going to be all right—oh damn, it—"
Levina burrowed her face into Fred's shoulder, undoubtedly smearing tears and makeup all over his nice robes. She hated the feeling of being so helpless, like some stupid damsel in distress—but she couldn't bear the thought of something happening to him, or to any of them, for that matter—
"Where's George and Destiny?" Levina demanded, pulling away from him to grasp his lower arms and wrist instead. "I've seen Harry and Hermione, but not—"
And then, in the blink of an eye, Ron, Hermione, and Harry were all at her side at once, seizing her arms.
"Levina, we have to go—"
"Wait, wh—"
"—disspparate—"
"—the four of us—"
"No, no!" Levina protested, shooting a fleeting look at Fred, clutching tightly to his arm. "Are you three mad? We can't leave now! What about the others?"
"Levina, go—I'll find them, all right, and they'll be okay," Fred insisted. "Go somewhere safe and leave me here. I'll be fine." Fred's words were reassuring, but his eyes said otherwise. Levina stared at him, her heart splitting in under a matter of seconds.
But Levina didn't want to leave him. What if it were her last chance to ever see him again? She kicked herself internally for even asking the question, but her mind was in full-on panic mode.
Fred gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. "I'll be all right, Levina. Georgie, too. We're Unbeatable Beaters, remember?" His gaze was soft but forceful. "I promise. Now, go!"
Levina felt her grip on Fred's arm slacken, and before she could even open her mouth to protest, he was gone. The encouraging touch of his fabric robes on her fingers dissolved in an instant and she felt Harry take her free arm.
They turned on the spot, and sight and sound were extinguished as darkness pressed in upon her; all she could feel was Harry's hand as she was squeezed through space and time, away from the Burrow, away from the descending Death Eaters, away, perhaps, from Voldemort himself…Her stomach lurched and her head pounded, leaving her momentarily blinded.
"Where are we?" said Ron's voice.
Levina's eyes fluttered open. For a moment she thought they had not even left the wedding at all; they still seemed to be surrounded by people…But Fred and the others were nowhere to be seen. Levina's outstretched hand, which once held onto his arm, enclosed slowly on thin air.
"Tottenham Court Road," panted Hermione. "Walk, just walk, we need to find somewhere for you to change."
Levina did as she asked, but anxiety ailed her. Fred wasn't the only one she was worried about—what about Destiny? And Eric? And George?
They half walked, half ran up the wide dark street thronged with late-night revelers and lined with closed shops, stars twinkling above them. A double-decker bus rumbled by and a group of merry pub-goers ogled them as they passed; Harry and Ron were still wearing dress robes, and Hermione and Levina were in dresses. Levina wiped her eyes on her wrist, leaving a trail of black makeup behind.
"Hermione, we haven't got anything to change into," Ron told her, as a young woman burst into raucous giggles at the sight of him.
"This dress is really tight," Levina panted, drawing her wand, with the temptation to simply just cut it open.
"Why didn't I make sure I had the Invisibility Cloak with me?" said Harry, looking annoyed with himself. "All last year I kept it on me and—"
"I have a color spell—I dunno if it would work on you, though—"
"It's okay, I've got the Cloak, I've got clothes for both of you," said Hermione, "Just try and act naturally until—this will do."
"Both of you?" Levina repeated. "That implies you only have clothing for them…"
Hermione didn't answer her. She led them down a side street, then into the shelter of a shadowy alleyway.
"When you say you've got the Cloak, and clothes..." said Harry, frowning at Hermione, who was carrying nothing except her small beaded handbag, in which she was now rummaging.
"Yes, they're here," said Hermione.
"Where? Not…surely not in that tiny little thing?" said Levina, staring at the beaded handbag.
And to the utter astonishment of all three of them, Hermione pulled out a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, some maroon socks, and finally the silvery Invisibility Cloak.
"How the ruddy hell—?"
"Undetectable Extension Charm," said Hermione. "Tricky, but I think I've done it okay; anyway, I managed to fit everything we need in here." She gave the fragile-looking bag a little shake and it echoed like a cargo hold as a number of heavy objects rolled around inside it. "Oh, damn, that'll be the books," she said, peering into it, "and I had them all stacked by subject...Oh well...Harry, you'd better take the Invisibility Cloak. Ron, hurry up and change..."
"When did you do all this?" Harry asked as Ron stripped off his robes.
"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..."
"You're amazing, you are," said Ron, handing her his bundled-up robes.
"Thank you," said Hermione, managing a small smile as she pushed the robes into the bag. "Please, Harry, get that Cloak on!"
"If I use a color spell," said Levina, muttering the charm a few times under her breath, unable to concentrate on it, "then can I just run around naked?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sorry, I didn't bring spare clothing for us. Dresses are fine."
"Maybe for you," Levina mumbled, unable to make her color spell work correctly. The charm seemed much more difficult to perform now, as her mind was in an absolute bundle, unfocused and rattled.
Harry threw his Invisibility Cloak around his shoulders and pulled it up over his head, vanishing from sight.
"The others—everybody at the wedding—"
"We can't worry about that now," whispered Hermione. "It's you they're after, Harry, and we'll just put everyone in even more danger by going back."
Levina opened her mouth, but no words followed. She knew Hermione was right; Harry was being hunted, and it would only hurt Fred and the others if they went back.
"She's right," said Ron, taking notice of Levina's inner confliction. "Most of the Order was there, they'll look after everyone."
"Yeah."
"Come on, I think we ought to keep moving," said Hermione. "And for crying out loud, Levina!" she added. "Leave your clothes alone, will you? You are a girl, you know. Have some decency."
Levina, who'd been trying to saw open the side of her dress with her wand, dropped her hands to her sides and grumbled something about "dying of suffocation."
They moved back up the side street and onto the main road again, where a group of men on the opposite side was singing and weaving across the pavement.
"Just as a matter of interest, why Tottenham Court Road?" Ron asked Hermione.
"I've no idea, it just popped into my head, but I'm sure we're safer out in the Muggle world, it's not where they'll expect us to be."
"True," said Ron, looking around, "but don't you feel a bit—exposed?"
"Why yes," said Levina, tugging at her dress straps. From a look from Hermione, though, she ceased in messing with them.
"Where else is there?" asked Hermione, cringing as the men on the other side of the road started wolf-whistling at her. "We can hardly book rooms at the Leaky Cauldron, can we? And Grimmauld Place is out if Snape can get in there...I suppose we could try my parents' home, though I think there's a chance they might check there...Oh, I wish they'd shut up!"
"All right, darling?" the drunkest of the men on the other pavement was yelling. "Fancy a drink? Ditch ginger and come and have a pint!"
"Oi! Shut your traps, you sick pigs!" Levina snarled back at them.
"We wasn't talking to you, princess!"
"Yeah, you and your ruddy brother go someplace else!"
"Let's sit down somewhere," Hermione said hastily, taking Levina by the wrist as she attempted to go after them, and as Ron opened his mouth to shout back across the road. "Look, this will do, in here!"
Levina followed Hermione, grumbling and muttering protests as she was dragged off. "Damn drunkards…"
It was a small and shabby all-night café. A light layer of grease lay on all the Formica-topped tables, but it was at least empty. The invisible Harry slipped into a booth first and Ron sat next to him opposite Hermione, who had her back to the entrance and did not like it: She glanced over her shoulder so frequently she appeared to have a twitch. Levina sat across from Harry and fiddled with her hands in her lap, unable to remain still.
After a minute or two, Ron said, "You know, we're not far from the Leaky Cauldron here, it's only in Charing Cross—"
"Ron, we can't!" said Hermione at once.
"Not to stay there, but to find out what's going on!"
"We'd be putting everyone else in danger by showing our faces there," Levina pointed out.
"We know what's going on! Voldemort's taken over the Ministry, what else do we need to know?"
"Okay, okay, it was just an idea!"
"Are you all right?" Hermione asked, turning her attention to Levina.
Levina blinked over at her. "Mm? Yeah, I...Sort of."
"No, I mean, there's some cuts on your face," Hermione explained, leaning forward to dab anxiously at Levina's face with a napkin. Levina winced and swatted her hand away.
"Ow! I'm okay, Hermione, really!" she protested. "Just don't touch it..." Levina could feel two visible slices in her skin: one on her cheek, and one on her forehead. She'd also skinned her knees.
They relapsed into a prickly silence. The gum-chewing waitress shuffled over and Hermione ordered three cappuccinos: Since Harry was invisible, it would have looked odd to order him one. A pair of burly workmen entered the café and squeezed into the next booth. Hermione dropped her voice to a whisper.
"I say we find a quiet place to Disapparate and head for the countryside. Once we're there, we could send a message to the Order. And you should really be invisible, you know," she added to Levina.
"I'm too worked up right now," Levina whispered back, holding out one of her hands. "Just look at me—I'm shaking. I can't focus. There's no way for me to stay invisible for more than a few seconds."
"Can you do that talking Patronus thing, then?" asked Ron.
"I've been practicing and I think so," said Hermione.
Levina wasn't paying attention. The black bracelet on her arm had begun to grow warm during the last few minutes. Every second, the heat level increased, and now it began to feel more like a burning sensation than just sitting in front of a warm fire. Levina examined the Wary-Bangle once and cast her gaze around the restaurant.
"Well, as long as it doesn't get them into trouble, though they might've been arrested already. God, that's revolting," Ron added after one sip of the foamy, grayish coffee. The waitress had heard; she shot Ron a nasty look as she shuffled off to take the new customers' orders. The larger of the two workmen, who was blond and quite huge, waved her away. She stared, affronted.
"It's okay. I was thinking the same thing," said Levina, stirring her drink around, her nose wrinkled in disgust. "This is more like sludge than a cappuccino…Um, guys?" she added, wincing a little as her Wary Bangle began to burn into her skin, surely leaving an imprint.
"Let's get going, then, I don't want to drink this muck," said Ron, ignoring her. "Hermione, have you got Muggle money to pay for this?"
"Guys—" Levina insisted.
"Yes, I took out all my Building Society savings before I came to the Burrow. I'll bet all the change is at the bottom," sighed Hermione, reaching for her beaded bag.
"Guys—"
Everything suddenly happened at once. Levina's wolf-like hearing perked up as she heard the creak of the booth beside them. The two workmen made identical movements, and Levina realized nearly a second too late what was happening. All four of them drew their wands. Ron, a few seconds late in realizing what was going on, lunged across the table, pushing Hermione sideways onto her bench. The force of the Death Eaters' spells shattered the tiled wall where Ron's head had just been, as Harry, still invisible, yelled, "Stupefy!"
The great blond Death Eater was hit in the face by a jet of red light: He slumped sideways, unconscious. His companion, unable to see who had cast the spell, fired another at Ron: Shining black ropes flew from his wand-tip and bound Ron head to foot—the waitress screamed and ran for the door.
Harry sent another Stunning Spell at the Death Eater with the twisted face who had tied up Ron, but the spell missed, rebounded on the window, and hit the waitress, who collapsed in front of the door.
"Nice one, Barny!" Levina called to him as she shot at the Death Eater. She, too, misaimed and shattered a mirror on the wall, sending a shower of glass down upon them.
"Expulso!" bellowed the Death Eater, and the table behind which Harry was standing blew up: The force of the explosion slammed him into the wall and the Cloak slipped off him. He advanced quickly on harry, but Levina filled the space between them, standing protectively in front of him.
"Stupefy!" The Death Eater aimed for her instead.
"Ennervate!" Levina countered, sending the spell ricocheting away from her.
"Petrificus Totalus!" screamed Hermione from out of sight, and the Death Eater fell forward like a statue to land with a crunching thud on the mess of broken china, table, and coffee. Hermione crawled out from underneath the bench, shaking bits of glass ashtray out of her hair and trembling all over.
"D-diffindo," she said, pointing her wand at Ron, who roared in pain as she slashed open the knee of his jeans, leaving a deep cut. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Ron, my hand's shaking! Diffindo!"
The severed ropes fell away. Ron got to his feet, shaking his arms to regain feeling in them. Harry picked up his wand and climbed over all the debris to where the large blond Death Eater was sprawled across the bench. Levina hesitantly re-tucked her wand in her pocket, dusted herself off, and approached the others.
"Oh no, don't listen to the Levina," Levina muttered as she massaged her wrist; in the presence of the Death Eaters, the Wary-Bangle still burned. "It's not like this hasn't, oh I dunno, happened before or anything."
"Are you still holding a grudge about the whole locking-the-troll-in-the-bathroom-with-Hermione thing?" demanded Ron. "When we weren't listening to you? Because we already told you we were sorry about that."
"Some things never change, I guess," said Levina, shrugging with a weary grin.
"I should've recognized him, he was there the night Dumbledore died," Harry said. He turned over the darker Death Eater with his foot; the man's eyes moved rapidly between Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"That's Dolohov," said Ron. "I recognize him from the old wanted posters. I think the big one's Thorfinn Rowle."
"Never mind what they're called!" said Hermione a little hysterically. "How did they find us? What are we going to do?"
"Lock the door," Harry told her, "and Ron, turn out the lights. Levina, close the blinds."
Levina waved her wand at the blinds, which all shut at once, and Ron used the Deluminator to plunge the café into darkness. The lock clicked. Levina could hear the men who had jeered at Hermione earlier, yelling at another girl in the distance.
"What are we going to do with them?" Ron whispered to Harry through the dark; then, even more quietly, "Kill them? They'd kill us. They had a good go just now."
Hermione shuddered and took a step backward. Levina bit her lip and drew her knees up to her chest. Harry shook his head.
"We just need to wipe their memories," said Harry. "It's better like that, it'll throw them off the scent. If we killed them it'd be obvious we were here."
"You're the boss," said Ron, sounding profoundly relieved. "But I've never down a Memory Charm."
"Nor have I," said Hermione, "but I know the theory."
"If anything, Ron, Harry and I would know," said Levina. "After Hermione's 'celebrity crush' tried to erase our memories."
Hermione shot Levina a glare before shutting her eyes in concentration. She took a deep, calming breath, then pointed her wand at Dolohov's forehead and said, "Obliviate."
At once, Dolohov's eyes became unfocused and dreamy.
"Brilliant!" said Harry, clapping her on the back. "Take care of the other one and the waitress while Ron, Levina, and I clear up."
"Clear up?" said Ron, looking around at the partly destroyed café. "Why?"
"You really need to re-bolt a couple of screws up there, Ron," said Levina, tapping the side of her head with her index finger.
"Yeah. Don't you think they might wonder what's happened if they wake up and find themselves in a place that looks like it's just been bombed?" said Harry.
"Oh right, yeah..."
Ron struggled for a moment before managing to extract his wand from his pocket.
"It's no wonder I can't get it out, Hermione, you packed my old jeans, they're tight."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," hissed Hermione sarcastically, and as Levina dragged the waitress out of sight of the windows, she heard Hermione mutter a suggestion as to where Ron could stick his wand instead.
Once the café was restored to its previous condition, they heaved the Death Eaters back into their booth and propped them up facing each other. "But how did they find us?" Hermione asked, looking from one inert man to the other. "How did they know where we were?"
"Don't look at me," said Levina, putting her hands up defensively. "I'm not a widely demanded 'criminal' these days, remember?"
Hermione turned to Harry.
"You—you don't think you've still got your Trace on you, do you, Harry?"
"He can't have," said Ron. "The Trace breaks at seventeen, that's Wizarding law, you can't put it on an adult."
"As far as you know," said Hermione. "What if the Death Eaters have found a way to put it on a seventeen-year-old?"
"But Harry hasn't been near a Death Eater in the last twenty-four hours. Who's supposed to have put a Trace back on him?"
Hermione did not reply. Levina crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head in thought. There could've been the possibility of one hiding out at the wedding—no, that'd be stupid. There were way too many Aurors around for something like that to happen."
"If I can't use magic, and you can't use magic near me, without us giving away our position—" Harry began.
"Don't you even dare suggest it!" Levina cut across.
"We're not splitting up!" said Hermione firmly.
"We need a safe place to hide," said Ron. "Give us time to think things through."
"Grimmauld Place," said Harry.
The other two gaped.
"Don't be silly, Harry, Snape can get in there!"
"Oh, good. He's overdue for a nice arse kicking," Levina grumbled.
"Ron's dad said they've put up jinxes against him—and even if they haven't worked," he pressed on as Hermione began to argue, "—so what? I swear, I'd like nothing better than to meet Snape!"
"But—"
"Hermione, where else is there? It's the best chance we've got. Snape's only one Death Eater. If I've still got the Trace on me, we'll have whole crowds of them on us wherever else we go."
She could not argue, though she looked as if she would have liked to. While she unlocked the café door, Ron clicked the Deluminator to release the café's light. Then, on Harry's count of three, they reversed the spells upon their three victims, and before the waitress or either of the Death Eaters could do more than stir sleepily, Harry, Ron, Levina, and Hermione had turned on the spot and vanished into the compressing darkness once more.
Seconds later Levina gasped for air and opened her eyes: They were now standing in the middle of a familiar small and shabby square. Tall, dilapidated houses looked down on them from every side. Number twelve was visible to them, for they had been told of its existence by Dumbledore, its Secret-Keeper, and they rushed toward it, checking every few yards that they were not being followed or observed. They raced up the stone steps, and Harry tapped the front door once with his wand. They heard a series of metallic clicks and the clatter of a chain, then the door swung open with a creak and they hurried over the threshold.
As Harry closed the door behind them, the old-fashioned gas lamps sprang into life, casting flickering light along the length of the hallway. It looked no different than before: eerie, cobwebbed, the outlines of the house-elf heads on the wall throwing odd shadows up the staircase. Long dark curtains concealed the portrait of Sirius's mother. The only thing that was out of place was the troll's leg umbrella stand, which was lying on its side as if Tonks had just knocked it over again.
"I think somebody's been in here," Hermione whispered, pointing toward it.
"That could've happened as the Order left," Ron murmured back.
"But no sense taking any chances," said Levina, feeling her wrist. The Wary Bangle remained cold and metal against her wrist.
"So where are these jinxes they put up against Snape?" Harry asked.
"Maybe they're only activated if he shows up?" suggested Ron.
Yet they remained close together on the doormat, backs against the door, scared to move farther into the house.
"Well, we can't stay here forever," said Harry, and he took a step forward.
"Harry, wait—" Levina grabbed his arm.
"Severus Snape?"
Mad-Eye Moody's voice whispered out of the darkness, making all three of them jump back in fright. Levina clasped a hand to her mouth and Hermione squealed. "We're not Snape!" croaked Harry.
Something whooshed over Levina like cold air and her tongue curled backward on itself, making it impossible to speak. Her hands scrambled upward and she let out an incoherent mumble of fear. Before she had time to feel inside her mouth, however, her tongue had unraveled again.
The other three seemed to have experienced the same unpleasant sensation. Ron was making retching noises; Harry was feeling his jaw, bemused; Hermione stammered, "That m-must have b-been the T-Tongue-Tying Curse Mad-Eye set up for Snape!"
"You think?" Levina snapped as she stuck her tongue out, assessing the damage.
Gingerly Harry took another step forward. Something shifted in the shadows at the end of the hall, and before any of them could say another word, a figure had risen up out of the carpet, tall, dust-colored, and terrible; Hermione and Levina screamed, and so did Mrs. Black, her curtains flying open; the gray figure was gliding toward them, faster and faster, its waist-length hair and beard streaming behind it, its face sunken, fleshless, with empty eye sockets: Horribly familiar, dreadfully altered, it raised a wasted arm, pointing at Harry.
"No!" Harry shouted, raising his wand, but no spell followed. "No! It wasn't us! We didn't kill you—"
On the word kill, the figure exploded in a great cloud of dust: Coughing, her eyes watering, Levina surveyed the room to see Hermione crouched on the floor by the door with her arms over her head, Harry, shaking as he stood rigid in place, and Ron, who was shaking from head to foot, patting her clumsily on the shoulder and saying, "It's all r-right...It's g-gone..."
Dust swirled around them like mist, catching the blue gaslight, as Mrs. Black continued to scream.
"Mudbloods, filth, stains of dishonor, taint of shame on the house of my fathers—"
"WOULD YOU GIVE IT A REST?" Levina screamed.
"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.
"That...that was..." Hermione whimpered, as Ron helped her to her feet.
"Yeah," said Harry, "but it wasn't really him, was it? Just something to scare Snape."
Had it worked, Levina wondered, or had Snape already blasted the horror-figure aside as casually as he had killed the real Dumbledore?
Harry led the other three up the hall. Levina half-expected some new terror to reveal itself, but nothing moved except for a mouse skittering along the skirting board.
"Before we go any farther, I think we'd better check," whispered Hermione, and she raised her wand and said, "Homenum revelio."
Nothing happened.
"Well, you've just had a big shock," said Ron kindly. "What was that supposed to do?"
"It did what I meant it to do!" said Hermione rather crossly. "That was a spell to reveal human presence, and there's nobody here except us!"
"And old Dusty," said Ron, glancing at the patch of carpet from which the corpse-figure had risen.
"And Sirius' lovely mother up there," said Levina, glaring up at the curtains.
"Let's go up," said Hermione with a frightened look at the same spot, and she led the way up the creaking stairs to the drawing room on the first floor.
Hermione waved her wand to ignite the old gas lamps, then, shivering slightly in the drafty room, she perched on the sofa, her arms wrapped tightly around her. Ron crossed to the window and moved the heavy velvet curtains aside an inch.
"Can't see anyone out there," he reported. "And you'd think, if Harry still had a Trace on him, they'd have followed us here. I know they can't get in the house, but—what's up, Harry?"
Harry had given a cry of pain. Levina rushed to his side, placing one hand firmly on his back. She'd learned a calming enchantment from Destiny, and she murmured it over and over again under her breath, hoping the spell would transfer into Harry at her touch.
"What did you see?" Ron asked, advancing on Harry. "Did you see him at my place?"
"No, I just felt anger—he's really angry—thanks, Levina, but I'm fine," he added, and she withdrew her hand.
"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—"
"Anger?" Levina was alarmed. "That shouldn't still be happening!"
Hermione looked frightened. "Your scar, again? But what's going on? I thought that connection had closed!"
"It did, for a while," muttered Harry. "I—I think it's started opening again whenever he loses control, that's how it used to—"
"But then you've got to close your mind!" said Hermione shrilly. "Harry, Dumbledore didn't want you to use that connection, he wanted you to shut it down, that's why you were supposed to use Occlumency! Otherwise Voldemort can plant false images in your mind, remember—"
"Yeah, I do remember, thanks," said Harry through gritted teeth. "Actually, Levina, could you use that charm again? I'm feeling a little sick."
Levina nodded reassuringly and placed her hand on his back again.
He turned away from Ron and Hermione, allowing Levina to help calm him. Then Hermione shrieked: Harry drew his wand again and spun around and Levina gave a great start of surprise. A silver Patronus soared through the drawing room window and landed upon the floor in front of them, where it solidified into the weasel that spoke with the voice of Ron's father.
"Weasley and Levesque family safe, do not reply, we are being watched."
The Patronus dissolved into nothingness. Ron let out a noise between a whimper and a groan and dropped onto the sofa: Hermione joined him, gripping his arm.
"They're all right, they're all right!" she whispered, and Ron half laughed and hugged her.
"Oh, thank God!" Levina could have started sobbing right then. She sank onto her knees in relief, covering her face with her hands. They were all okay. They were all okay! There was no describing the joy that leapt through her, the reassurance that Fred and the others were safe.
"Harry," Ron said over Hermione's shoulder, "I—"
"It's not a problem," said Harry, still looking queasy. "It's your family, 'course you were worried. I'd feel the same way." He paused. "I do feel the same way."
"I don't want to be on my own. Could we use the sleeping bags I've brought and camp in here tonight?" said Hermione.
Ron nodded in agreement.
"Sounds like a plan," said Levina, looking up from her hands as she wiped fresh tears away from the corners of her eyes.
"Bathroom," Harry muttered suddenly, still gripping his head, and he left the room as fast as he could without running.
Levina watched him go, frowning. She wanted to see if he was all right, but she felt like she'd be butting into his own personal space.
"Oh, I hope he's all right," said Hermione as she set up the sleeping bags.
"Well, when you gotta go, you gotta go," Levina joked, but the three of them knew that Harry was more than likely having another attack. It made her wonder if her visions were going to return…She hadn't had any in a while—but then, neither had Harry. The thought made her sick.
Harry remained up in the bathroom for the next half-hour. Levina laid out her sleeping bag on the drawing room floor, then balled up within its warmth. Ron insisted that Hermione sleep on the cushions from the sofa, so that she was raised above him. Levina lay buried deep into her sleeping bag, breathing steadily. They must have assumed she was asleep, for they were holding hands.
Levina smiled halfheartedly. She found the gesture cute—but also lonesome. Curling her fingers on her right hand slightly, she envisioned Draco's hand wrapped in hers.
Wait. Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Fred's hand, not Draco's. Fred's. God, she needed sleep. Now she was becoming just plain loony.
…
Levina woke early next morning to find herself tangled up in her sleeping bag. Apparently it had been a rough night. A crack of sky was visible between the heavy curtains. It was the cool, clear blue of watered ink, somewhere between night and dawn, and everything was quiet except for the low breathing of her companions. Hermione's arm curved to the floor, her fingers inches from Ron's. They must have fallen asleep with their hands still together, Levina thought.
Harry was not in the room.
Slightly startled, Levina got to her feet. She un-tucked her wand from her pocket, made a feeble attempt to tame her red mess of hair, and tiptoed out of the room, careful not to wake the others. "Lumos," she whispered as she crept down the hallway, squinting through the dim lighting.
On the second landing was the bedroom in which she, Harry, and Ron had slept last time they had been here; he glanced into it. The wardrobe doors stood open and the bedclothes had been ripped back. Levina remembered the overturned troll leg downstairs. Somebody had searched the house since the Order had left. Snape? Or perhaps Mundungus, who had pilfered plenty from this house
both before and after Sirius died?
Levina continued up the stairs until she reached the topmost landing where there were only two doors. The one facing her bore a nameplate reading Sirius. Oh. Sirius' bedroom.
Levina hesitated outside the door. She felt like an intruder, pilfering through his belongings uninvited—especially since he was now gone. The thought sickened her.
On a last-second decision, Levina shoved the door open, raising her wand high above her head to see the room better. The room was spacious andmmust once have been handsome. There was a large bed with a carved wooden headboard, a tall window obscured by long velvet curtains and a chandelier thickly coated in dust with candle scrubs still resting in its sockets, solid wax banging in frostlike drips. A fine film of dust covered the pictures on the walls and the bed's headboard; a spiders web stretched between the chandelier and the top of the large wooden wardrobe, and as Levina moved deeper into the room, she heard a scurrying of disturbed mice.
The teenage Sirius had plastered the walls with so many posters and pictures that little of the walls silvery-gray silk was visible.
There were several large Gryffindor banners, faded scarlet and hold just to underline his difference from all the rest of the Slytherin family. There were many pictures of Muggle motorcycles, and also (Levina rolled her eyes) several posters of bikini-clad Muggle girls. One actual Wizard photograph on the wall caught her eye, and she moved to squint up at the image, blowing away a thick layer of dust.
Levina's heart leapt. The picture was of five Hogwarts students standing arm in arm, laughing at the camera. Levina could see her father standing beside Harry's, beaming openly with his broomstick tucked under one arm. Beside them was Sirius, carelessly handsome, his slightly arrogant face so much younger and happier than Levina had ever seen it alive. To Sirius's right stood Pettigrew, more than a head shorter, plump and watery-eyed, flushed with pleasure at his inclusion in this coolest of gangs, with the much-admired rebels that James and Sirius had been. On James's left was Lupin, even then a little shabby-looking, but he had the same air of delighted surprise at finding himself liked and included.
"Oi!"
Levina gave a loud squeal and turned sharply around, raising her wand in preparation to strike. Harry stood behind her, looking equally startled, with his hands held up in a "don't-shoot" gesture.
"Oh," said Levina, sighing in relief as she lowered her wand. "Hi, Harry. Why'd you sneak off?"
"Same as you. Exploring," he answered, casting his green eyes about the room.
"What's that?" Levina gestured to a crumpled sheet of paper in Harry's hand.
Harry held it up for her to see. "I found it on the ground. It was a letter my Mum had written to Sirius, thanking him for a birthday present he'd gotten for me…It's been torn slightly, like someone's ripped off the very last part of it, so I don't know the rest."
Levina examined the handwritten letter and read the last words: "It seems incredible that Dumbledore"
"That Dumbledore…what exactly?"
Harry shrugged helplessly. "That's what I've been trying to figure out."
"Huh. Weird…Anything from my parents?"
"No," said Harry, offering her a pitying look. "Not that I've seen."
"Oh." Levina tried to not look to disappointed. "That's all right."
Harry got to his feet and scanned the floor once before he seized more papers, pulled open drawers, shook out books, stood on a chair to run his hand over the top of the wardrobe, and crawled under the bed and armchair. Levina joined him, crawling on her hands and feet to search all over the bedroom in a seemingly-futile attempt to find any trace of her parents.
Finally, whilst lying on her back on the ground, Levina spotted something under the bed—a photograph. She dug it out, blew off the dust, and flattened it out, only to find that it had been ripped slightly.
"Oh! Harry, look, it's Destiny's parents!" said Levina, delighted. The picture contained their beautiful Siren mother of Destiny, Celeste, and her husband, Uncle Nicholas. Both were still fairly young, but Celeste was visibly pregnant. Beside them stood Rick Snowpetal, Levina's father, who had his arm wrapped playfully around his brother. "Aw, brilliant…This is so cool! Wait…"
Levina frowned. To Alan's right was the space that had been torn away, but it appeared as though someone had been in the picture before, for she could see a pale, petite hand on Rick's waist. Had it been Nadia Snowpetal? Levina blinked, bemused. Why would anyone rip her out of the page? She could understand Sirius wanting to take Nick out, maybe—he was a bit of a stick in the mud back in school, a straight-A prefect…but not her mother.
"This photo's been torn," said Levina, thrusting the image under Harry's nose. "Think it was on purpose?"
Harry shrugged, dumbfounded. "I dunno, Levina...To me it looks like someone tore it in a pretty specific spot, though."
Levina leaned against the dresser behind her and fingered the edge of the picture where the rip was, frowning.
"This photograph is ripped, too," said Harry suddenly, peering over Levina's shoulder to show her a photo of him as a little boy, flying around on a broomstick.
"Aww! You look adorable!" Levina gushed, taking the picture from him to examine as he blushed. "But why's everything in here been torn up? You'd think the thief would at least have the decency to leave family photos alone…"
"Harry? Levina?" Two voices down the stairs suddenly echoed.
"Harry, where are you?"
"Levina!"
"I'm here!" Harry called, "So's Levina! What's happened?"
There was a clatter of footsteps outside the door, and Hermione burst inside.
"We woke up and didn't know where you two were!" she said breathlessly. She turned and shouted over her shoulder, "Ron! I've found them."
Ron's annoyed voice echoed distantly from several floors below.
"Good! Tell them from me they're gits!"
"You two, don't just disappear, please, we were terrified! Why did you come up here anyway?" She gazed around the ransacked room. "What have you been doing?"
"Harry's fault. He left first; I'm just a follower," said Levina, pointing accusingly at Harry. "And nothin'. Just ransacking Sirius' room."
"Look what I've just found!" Harry held out his mother's letter to Hermione. She took it out and read it while Harry and Levina watched her. When she reached the end of the page she looked up at him.
"Oh Harry..."
"And there's this too."
He handed her the two torn photographs, and Hermione smiled at the baby zooming in and out of sight on the toy broom, at the group picture of Levina's relatives.
"I've been looking for the rest of the letter," Harry said, "but it's not here."
Hermione glanced around.
"Did you two make all this mess, or was some of it done when you got here?"
"You always assume it's us," said Levina, shaking her head.
"Someone had searched before us," said Harry.
"I thought so. Every room I looked into on the way up had been disturbed. What were they after, do you think?"
"Family photos, apparently," said Levina, turning over the picture in her hands. "Or maybe Sirius' bikini chicks," she added, grinning up at the muggle pictures on the walls.
"Information on the Order, if it was Snape."
"But you'd think he'd already have all he needed. I mean was in the Order, wasn't he?"
"Well then, what about information on Dumbledore? The second page of the letter, for instance. You know this Bathilda my mum mentions, you know who she is?"
"Who?"
"Bathilda Bagshot, the author of—"
"A History of Magic," said Hermione, looking interested. "So your parents knew her? She was an incredible magic historian."
"And she's still alive," said Harry, "and she lives in Godric's Hollow. Ron's Auntie Muriel was talking about her at the wedding. She knew Dumbledore's family too. Be pretty interesting to talk to, wouldn't she?"
"Good idea!" Levina grinned. Although the speaking with a woman who knew Dumbledore and his family would be interesting, Levina had to admit, she was more excited about seeing the place where her parents raised her.
"I understand why you'd love to talk to her about, and Dumbledore too," said Hermione. "But that wouldn't really help us in our search for the Horcruxes, would it?" Harry did not answer, and she rushed on, "Guys, I know you two really want to go to Godric's Hollow, but I'm scared. I'm scared at how easily those Death Eaters found us yesterday. It just makes me feel more than ever that we ought to avoid the place where your parents are buried, I'm sure they'd be expecting you to visit it."
"Yeah, I know...I feel vulnerable," Levina agreed, suppressing a shudder.
"It's not just that," Harry said, still avoiding looking at Hermione.. "Muriel said stuff about Dumbledore at the wedding. I want to know the truth..."
"Wait, what?" said Levina.
He told Hermione and Levina everything that Muriel had told him. When he had finished, Hermione said, "Of course, I can see why that's upset you, Harry—"
"I'm not upset," he snapped, "I'd just like to know whether or not it's true or—"
"Harry do you really think you'll get the truth from a malicious old woman like Muriel, or from Rita Skeeter? How can you believe them? You knew Dumbledore!"
"I thought I did," he muttered.
"You did," Levina assured him.
"But you know how much truth there was in everything Rita wrote about you! Doge is right, how can you let these people tarnish your memories of Dumbledore?"
Harry looked away from them and Levina frowned after him.
"Shall we go down to the kitchen?" Hermione suggested after a little pause. "Find something for breakfast?"
Levina nodded hurriedly. "Yes, that sounds good. How about it, Harry?"
He agreed, but grudgingly, and followed them out onto the landing and past the second door that led to it. There were deep scratch marks in the paintwork below a small sign that she had not noticed in the dark. Levina paused at the top of the stairs to read it. It was a porapous little sign, neatly lettered by hand the sort of thing that Percy Weasley might have stuck on his bedroom door.
Do Not Enter
Without the Express Permission of
Regulus Arcturus Black
Levina grinned at it, but her smile was short-lived as memories of Sirius came flooding into her mind. She was just about to turn away and follow Hermione down the stairs when Harry clasped a hand to her shoulder to stop her. She glanced over at him. "What?"
"Hermione," he said softly, without looking at Levina; his eyes were on the sign. "Come back up here."
"What's the matter?"
"R.A.B. I think I've found him."
"Wait—what?" Levina spluttered as she returned her gaze to the sign.
There was a gasp, and then Hermione ran back up the stairs.
"In your mum's letter? But I didn't see—"
Harry shook his head, pointing at Regulus's sign. She read it, then clutched Harry's arm so tightly that he winced.
"Sirius's brother?" she whispered.
"He was a Death Eater," said Harry. "Sirius told me about him, he joined up when he was really young and then got cold feet and tried to leave—so they killed him."
"Ouch," said Levina.
"That fits!" gasped Hermione. "If he was a Death Eater he had access to Voldemort, and if he became disenchanted, then he would have wanted to bring Voldemort down!" She released Harry, leaned over the banister, and screamed, "Ron! RON! Get up here, quick!"
Ron appeared, panting, a minute later, his wand ready in his hand.
"What's up? If it's massive spiders again I want breakfast before I—"
He frowned at the sign on Regulus's door, in which Hermione was silently pointing.
"What? That was Sirius's brother, wasn't it? Regulus Arcturus…Regulus...R.A.B.! The locket—you don't reckon—?"
"Let's find out," said Harry. He pushed the door: It was locked.
Hermione pointed her wand at the handle and said, "Alohamora."
There was a click, and the door swung open.
…
-Breathes a sigh of relief- Oh my frickin' frick, you guys…I can't believe I finally finished this chapter…Can any of you?
I really hope this chapter was decent enough. I've been off my game for a while, and I hope no one was out of character or anything...If they were, please let me know!
I know that a lot of you were messaging me and posting reviews, asking me to come back and finish this story. I'm really sorry it took me so long to get around to it, and I really hope you guys are still here with me!
Suehill5: Oh, thank you so much! You have no idea how much that means to me(: I'm so sorry this update took forever. I feel really guilty about it!
Mercy: Sorry, sorry! I know, I've been meaning to update but never got around to it...I really hope this chapter was all right; I'm a little rusty right now.
RosieHorgan7: Never too late to jump into the mess of Levina's life(: Thank you so much! You guys are all that keeps me going, honestly!
flyingwerecats: *SOBS BACK* I honestly thought you were gone! You're one of the last people (that I'm aware of) who's stuck with me through the whole series, since I posted Book One. Thank you so much, love! And yeah, I know...I think this will be the hardest book to write, which may be why I've put it off for so long...Anyway, sorry for my hiatus!
justwriteit: I'm sorry! Although that really makes me happy, knowing that someone's that dedicated/likes my story that much! :) Thank you, thank you!
Awesome In The Potatoes: For one, I love your username haha(: For two, thank you so so so much! I'm honestly beaming right now, and I'm so sorry for not updating sooner! I really hope you're still here.
Kaitie131: Eh..heh. Well, this is awkward. I feel like I did bail on you guys...At least for a while, anyway...Or a year...But /ahem/. Thank you so much, I'm really glad you like my story that much!
Anyway, thank you guys again so much for being patient with me and for sticking with this story! I can't tell you guys how much I love you all and your support.