"So what are we going to do about Rookwood?" Ron asked.

He and Harry had taken their pudding outside after everyone was finished with dinner. Their intention was to sit and relax, but instead, they had ended up anxiously peering through the tall grass of the fields surrounding the Burrow while discussing work.

It had been three days since the altercation with Vasile and there had been no attack or sign of intruders around any of the suspected targets. Ioana and Charlie would leave during the day hours to tend to their duties in Romania. Everyone else in the family likewise went about their work as usual there in London. Molly and Ginny were the only ones to stay at the elder Weasely residence and take care of home-maker matters. As Minister, Shackelbolt's place had many magical security measures and Saul Croaker refused to change his regular routine in order to stay out of the way of any perceived harm.

That left the Malfoys and the Smiths. Each family was visited frequently by the aurors or other wizarding officers even though the Malfoys had thus far angrily pushed away any extended help and the Smiths seemed confused about the ordeal in general. Apparently, something had been bugging Oliver... Why did the vampires let him go? He had at first been convinced that it was Brad's doing, but upon further retrospection, he wondered why they would heed any desire of the prior muggle. Oliver admitted to suspecting that it had, in fact, been Gerald's doing that he was freed as it was the singer who had what their captors wanted.

The aurors heard these thoughts from his brother, Stephen, and not from Oliver directly. Stephen relayed to the investigators his worry that in his denial, Oliver was once more starting to make excuses for his old friend's behaviour. It raised concern in their minds as well, but on a purely emotional level and not to do with any legalities. Oliver had already given permission for the truth serum and memory extraction to be used on him in Gerald's case, which was something impossible for him to go back on now.

The younger Smith, himself, had very few words for Harry and Ron. He was in such a deeply depressive state that even his sister-in-law, Mary, had been easy on him concerning his mistakes and having tried to warn him and his brother about Gerald. It seemed she realized that he had not only been robbed of the two people closest to him, he had also been sorely betrayed by both. It wasn't their job and it was probably ill-advised to interject themselves personally like that, but the aurors actually made soft attempts to console the wizard, offering vague stories of their own past during the wizarding wars they had been a part of. Each time, however, they ended up leaving with him in the same state as before.

Harry and Ron were having family trouble themselves anyway. The death of their own brother three years ago had shaken the entire Weasely-Potter household and now his murderer had shown himself alive and well. Out of all of them, George had been damaged the most. As much as the others didn't want him to know about their encounter with Rookwood, it was impossible to keep it from him...and he had not taken the news well, not that anyone had expected him to.

His first response was a blurt at the mention of the deatheater's name, asking if they had killed him. It was a strictly heated reaction and the looks on the faces around the room quickly made him change the wording to 'did you get him?' The unfortunate answer that they hadn't had then enraged George to run off in order to keep from accidentally directing his frustration at the ones who didn't deserve it. Of course, Arthur had called after him, but George only finished his escape by disapparating. It had already been discussed that they were all going to stay at the Burrow temporarily and the family became worried that the lost twin would refuse to return. Thankfully, he came back just as night fell though he ignored any company until the next afternoon once he had finished at the joke shop. Then he acted as if nothing had happened and it was just an ordinary day.

"I don't know," Harry confessed, poking his fork at the cake in his lap absentmindedly while gazing into the distance, "But we can't abandon our case for him."

Ron scoffed, "I suppose...though after today, I'm not sure that we have much of a case to work with right now."

"I know what you mean," the lead auror agreed, "It shouldn't have been a surprise that the portkey to Vasile's was done away with, though I honestly just figured that they'd abandon the place instead of protecting it to such an extent," he glanced down at his arm as he said it, to see the bandage covering the splinch injury he had received from his attempt to apparate back to the manor. "Maybe they don't see us as a threat at all."

The redhead shrugged and took a careful bite of dessert; his normally ravenous appetite had disappeared about the same time George had, "How long are we supposed to keep at it? We can't expect everyone to just live like this."

"No," his partner sighed, "I know, it's just-"

A soft rustle from behind made the wizards twist their heads, instinctively grabbing their wands.

"Calm down, you two," George laughed, approaching them with hands up, "It's just me."

The aurors eased, but didn't smile back as the newcomer dropped his arms again and took a spot on the log beside them. Both were still worried about their brother even though he had been doing well in acting like he wasn't bothered.

"What are you two doing anyway?" he asked.

"Trying to decide if we should keep with our vigil or just let everyone go back home," Harry answered, facing the inquirer next to him, "I'm afraid that the moment we decide to disperse, something will happen."

"I guess it's a chance you're always going to have to take," George kept a grin as he stared into the fields, "It's only been three nights. Don't they say patience is important?"

The twin's words were oddly calm, yet they didn't lessen the concern that the aurors carried regarding him. "Something like that," Harry kept his eyes upon the man, studying him closely.

"Well, I'd give it another night or two," George placed his brother-in-law in his vision, "In the end, you've done what you can."

He then smiled so warmly that Harry couldn't resist returning it, "You're probably right. Thanks."

The older Weasely chuckled and stood back up, "Of course I am. I'm also tired. G'night."

"Goodnight," the other two wizards mumbled awkwardly, watching him return indoors.

"The bloody hell was that about?" Ron wondered aloud once his brother was out of sight.

"I don't know...Maybe he's had some sort of epiphany," Harry suggested. "I just hope he is alright... Either way," the auror looked from the home to his partner, "We'll do that. Let's at least wait the week out."

Ron nodded an affirmation and once more, the young men were staring blankly before them. They didn't stay out too much longer afterward. If the attack did happen, everyone needed their rest even if the first night, it had been entirely too difficult to relax. The residence was set with invisible traps both of traditional magic and of the twins' own designs. It was a tedious chore to booby trap the property each night, yet was necessary to ensure their speedy enemies could not sneak in on them.

The charms and devices stretched from the beds to each room's door frame, down the stairs, across the ceilings and the base story, around each window and the outer perimeter of the building itself, as well as scattered about the yard and the fields beyond on every side. With such a threat, no one was of mind to take chances. So far, there had already been two false alarms the first night and a third on the second which included Ron tripping on the steps, Crookshanks triggering one during her nightly stroll of the property, and a third that appeared to be a simple malfunction.

Each had resulted in the family awakening with pounding hearts and armed wands yet none had been so jarring as the one that happened that night. Harry was certain not an hour had passed since his head hit the pillow when the obnoxious alarm from one of George's creations sounded. Once more, the auror jumped from bed with his weapon up and ready as he cautiously made his way to the doorway, an equally startled Ginny joining him in peering out.

Upon reaching the room's exit, they hadn't a moment to spare for thought as below in the den where the dragon keepers slept, came a scream from Ioana. The couple was met in the corridor on the stairs with Ron and Hermione and saw that Arthur and Molly were already before them and heading down toward the commotion.

As the family scurried downward, Charlie could be heard yelling 'stupefy,' immediately followed with 'petrificus totalus' from both him and Ioana at the same time. The eldest Weaseleys hit feet on the ground just as flashing forms flew up the stairs. One knocked Ginny against the railing before halting his run and grabbing onto Harry's robes. A second being barely escaped a spell cast from Hermione, then decided to move backward and attack Molly from behind.

Charlie's attention had been ripped from the creature that had lashed out at Ioana, who quickly recovered to defend herself against it and another being even though she had a shoulder torn and bleeding right at the base of her neck. Arthur instantly twisted and cast the petrifying curse at his wife's assailant. Much to the surprise, albeit the delight of the others, his spell successfully hit the vampire who fell to the floor, unable to move. But they couldn't rejoice yet.

Ron attempted to do the same thing to the creature that had taken hold of Harry, but it easily maneuvered out of the way the moment it heard his voice. Luckily Ginny had recovered from flailing off the side of the railing and pulled her husband out of the way of her brother's stray curse. Ron immediately realized his mistake, switching to the use of 'lumos solem' instead as one of the other creatures came upon him directly. The light hurt the vampire without killing it. This one had been a female and hissed violently as it leapt backward to escape the young wizard.

It was hard to keep track, but Harry had counted at least seven vampires. The Burrow had become an excited blur of the creatures darting around, occasionally stopping to lay their hands on the wizards, and in turn, the wizards jumping about to defend themselves and each other. For the first several minutes, Ioana had been the only one to get wounded. However, as the battle progressed, Ginny succumbed to a bite from one of their assailants.

The lead auror was able to take advantage of the vampire's foucs in chewing on his wife's neck to cast a powerful stupefy charm and render the creature unconscious. Afterward, his first instinct was to cry out, asking her if she was alright. Fortunately, she was, but the distraction allowed for a second bite on her father.

Both Hermione and Charlie tried to take down the enemy behind Arthur, but it flashed away just in time for them to fail. This time, it was not stopping to check on the victim that was the group's downfall as the eldest Weasely turned his wand on his own family and began attacking. And he almost succeeded in setting his own daughter on fire...but Molly was too quick to act.

Not knowing which creature was controlling him and also not taking the chance of letting her husband harm his allies against his will, Molly Weasely struck the man with a stupefy charm just before being grabbed tightly herself by a pair of hands from behind. It was Charlie and he yanked her out of the way of another approaching vampire. Hermione cast a curse at that creature with impeccable timing. As it turned to ricochet off the wall and launch itself upon both mother and son, it dropped to the floor, petrified at Granger's hand.

With two vampires now completely incapable of action, the determination of the others only seemed to grow. As impossible as they thought it to be, the creatures' speed grew and this time, it was Ron and Hermione to be pounced. The female that clutched the witch, growled wildly, seeking to pierce the woman's neck. Ioana came to her aid with the sunlight charm, scaring the vampire into a state of confusion that led to her bounding around, unable to escape as the spell continued and fried the being's body completely...ash scattering in the air like a puff of smoke.

By this time, the male creature upon Ron had been able to throw claws at the redhead, ripping through his robes, and tearing into his chest to leave deep gashes across it. The pain was enough to cause him to drop his wand and falter, which led to the vampire's second attack, a bite. Yet just as he latched onto the wizard's skin, both Harry and Charlie had unleashed 'lumos solem.' Unfortunately, the attacker made off, but not without first becoming seriously scarred.

The amount of flashing forms within the house lessened as the numbers ticked down, yet the intensity of the fight had not faded. Ioana saved a gasping Ginny from falling victim once more and, in turn, Ginny saved Hermione. After several more minutes with no success on either side, the creatures stopped moving and could not be seen at all. Even so, the wizards were not ready to ease up. They stayed in their positions, wands aimed, eyes darting, minds ready.

After a few moments' silence...five vampires came out of hiding, a mix of male and female, some that hadn't yet been seen. Without hesitation, each one of them simultaneously threw themselves onto a wizard or witch. Harry had been the only one to manage in maneuvering out of his attacker's path.

Just as it flashed, ran, flashed, and again leapt for the auror, Harry, with as much power as he could muster, yelled, "LUMOS SOLEM!"

The spell held the same influence as when he had first cast his patronus in order to escape imminent death. The light expanded within the entire residence and flowed throughout every crevice, no doubt shining as brightly as a star in the night outside. When Harry felt himself beginning to collapse from over-exertion, he pushed once more before he gave in and fell to his knees.

There was ash all around them. Floating in the air...falling to the floor...the smell was overwhelming yet they couldn't be certain how many of the creatures had been slain with the light. Vision fading in and out, Harry scanned the room, seeing that everyone was no worse for wear. Ioana's shoulder was still bleeding as was Ron's chest. Arthur lay on the floor, alive, uninjured, but unconscious with Molly sitting beside him. Charlie, Ginny, and Hermione were breathing heavily and stepping about with wands half-raised waiting for any confirmation that they were free from further attack.

The two petrified vampires still lay on the floor...yet the sunlight spell had charred their bodies to a degree that ensured they were now dead. It was grim to witness, but grimmer to know that their plan had not succeeded.

Harry lost his last bit of strength and let himself fall to the floor on his side and roll over onto his back. Ginny was instantly kneeling next to him. He smiled at his wife, reaching up to caress her cheek to comfort them both...but suddenly...he noticed something and began visually searching the area around him again.

"Where's George?" he asked weakly.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:: Reminder that Crookshanks is Hermione's cat.