I bet you guys missed me! This story has not be abandoned, I promise. In fact, within the next few months, I will pause all of my other in progress and focus solely on this one. Until then, updates will be random. Not exactly few and far between like they have been or weekly updates. One week, there could be four chapters; or you may go 2 or 3 weeks without any updates. It will be very random.

Also, good news! There is finally a set amount of chapters for this story! This story will have 50 chapters total, which means 43 more chapters, I believe (I'm awful at mental math, especially since I'm really tired right now).

Point of view kind of jumps around in this chapter (it wasn't intentional. It just kind of happened), but I think you can still follow it pretty well (good? I don't know, and I'm too tired to care).

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I only own my OCs (there are too many to list, but basically, I do not own anything you recognize).

This road never looked so lonely

This house doesn't burn down slowly

To ashes

To ashes

It's time to begin, isn't it?

I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit

I'm just the same as I was

Now don't you understand

I'm never changing who I am

-"It's Time" by Imagine Dragons

The tiny girl's hand trembled in Percy's as he led her and the other kids through the tunnels. Her older sister (only by three years) clung to his side, and a toddler was held in Audrey's arms; Audrey was holding the hands of twin girls while an eight year old clutched her jacket in his tiny hand. A twelve year old lingered a little further behind while making sure to stay close to Audrey; a young girl stayed as close to Percy as she could while Percy held the girl's baby brother, who couldn't be more than a few months old.

An alarm started to blare, muffled only slightly by the thin walls, and some of the children started to cry quietly, startled by the sudden noise. Percy and Audrey jumped out for their skin, and Audrey swallowed, anxiety beginning to creep into her.

"How much farther?" she whispered.

"Only a few minutes," Percy replied before they began to creep forward, moving as silently as ninjas. The children were surprisingly quiet; being held prisoner in the Ministry had probably scared them into a state of being nearly mute. Percy remembered being their age and caught in the crossfire of a war children had no place being involved in; Percy had learned that if you stayed very quiet, the Death Eaters rarely found you. Even after the Bad Men and the scary evil guy that made Mommy cry was gone, Percy refused to speak for months. He just hoped that they'd gotten to the kids before they were past healing.

The two adults and the nine children emerged in the cellar of the small restaurant, and Percy led them up the stairs and out the front door, quietly urging the children to look straight ahead and not look anyone in the eye. The Muggles gave them a lot of weird looks, and Percy didn't blame them: two dusty and grimy adults leading nine bruised and frightened children out of the restaurant after appearing out of… almost no where, he'd give them a lot of weird looks, too.

Percy and Audrey ushered the kids out of the restaurant and speed-walked down the street until they turned a corner and found themselves at the hidden entrance to the Freedom Fighters headquarters. The kids would only be here for a few hours at the most- to clean them up and bandage any injuries, in order to blend in until they reached the Temporary Safe House.

Percy and Audrey looked both ways to make sure no one else was nearby before Audrey hissed the password (give me Liberty, or give me death. It was a quote from an American Muggle, said hundreds of years ago. No one would ever guess it), and the bricks slid aside to form a doorway.

"What?" one of the small girls murmured, obviously wondering where they were going. All she saw was a bunch of darkness and a steep drop that seemed never ending.

"Okay, kids," Percy whispered. "There's a net at the bottom. I'll go down first, and you kids will jump one by one."

"But-" the eight year old boy stammered.

"I will catch you," Percy told them. "We wouldn't have saved you if we were going to hurt you. I will go down first, and I will catch you. I promise."

Percy leaped off of the ledge and fell down, swallowing the scream that bubbled up in his throat; he'd done this a handful times and still abandoned his stomach in the alley he'd just left.

Percy hit the net and rolled off of it, stumbling and trying to ease the dizziness before looking up and waiting for the first child to jump.

Audrey knelt down to look the kids in the eye.

"See? He made it safely," she told the nervous children. "He'll catch you. Who's first?"

The children exchanged glances. They'd just been rescued from the deepest cells (aka torture chambers) in the corrupt and now cruel Ministry; after being Crucio-ed, beaten, tortured, starved, deprived of water and sleep, and enduring hundreds of torture tactics the Death Eaters had come up with for the 'Mudblood' children, they were reluctant to trust anyone, even their saviors.

A seven year old girl clenched her younger sister's hand tighter. This might be their only chance at salvation. The man and woman that had saved them seemed nice and trustworthy, and if there was a chance that safety might exist beyond this intimidating jump and several foot drop… she had to take a chance. For her sister.

The seven year old girl stepped forward and glanced over the nauseating drop. It was so far down, all she could see was darkness and a tiny pin prick of light that was glowing on the tip of the man's wand.

She nodded to her sister, motioning for her to stay put until the older girl called for her, before stepping off of the edge.

She was pretty sure she left what was left of her shrunken stomach at the top as she tumbled through the air, her breath stolen. She wanted to scream; she wanted to thrash in terror, but she was frozen with fear, her lungs begging for air she couldn't seem to find. After surviving the horrors of the Ministry, she was going to die. She was falling to her death, leaving her younger sister behind.

And then it was all over, and she felt the rough material of a net beneath her back as she sucked in her first breath in what felt like several minutes but was probably only a few seconds.

The net moved, and the man gently rolled her off of the net and onto the floor as she stumbled, slightly dizzy.

The man laughed. "The vertigo is probably the worst part," he told her. "What's your name?"

"Janice," she told him.

"Well, Janice, why don't you yell up there so they know you made it safely?" he suggested.

Janice nodded and looked upward at the square of light so far above her. She could barely see a familiar tiny face peering back at her.

"I'm okay!" she called, and not even a second later, her sister jumped and screeched as she fell until she landed in the net and giggled as the fear wore off.

Janice helped her four year old sister to her feet and glanced at the man.

"This is my younger sister, Jennifer. But everyone calls her Jenny."

The nice man shook her younger sister's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Janice and Jenny," he smiled, comfortingly, before turning to help the next child that landed, the twelve year old boy.

After all of the kids and the woman had arrived at the bottom of the terrifying and yet thrilling fall, the adults led the children down a bleak hallway, lit with fluorescent lights that blinded the kids (who had been kept in dimly lit rooms at the Ministry for months before being led through dark tunnels and arriving outside to see a cloudy day), and into what appeared to be some kind of Infirmary with beds and shelves of potions and medicine, and other medical supplies- like bandages- littering various shelves and small tables.

There were a few people waiting for them, and it took all of Janice's will power not to step back at the unfamiliar faces.

"This is Hazel, Jenna, Sarah, Jonah, and Margaret," the man told them. "I'm Percy, and this is Audrey. We'll be taking care of you, patching up any injuries, and making sure none of you are sick."

Janice and Jenny were taken care of by Margaret, who seemed kind enough. Janice was very intelligent for her seven years of age, and she could tell that Margaret didn't have the same experience with kids as the man- Percy- did, but she was still nice and gentle as she bandaged any wounds and gave them nourishment potions and even brushed their hair. After months in the Ministry with no showers or hair brushes or soap or even toothpaste, all of the kids were very grubby, and their hair had grown longer (some of the boys had started to look like girls if that tells you anything) and was very tangled and was more knots than hair at this point.

Margaret temporarily left and returned with two bowls of steaming hot soup, but before Janice or Jenny could make a grab for the food, she stated, "Eat slowly. We don't need you getting sick."

Janice nodded and accepted a bowl, taking a bite, and making sure her sister didn't scarf down her food and overwhelm her small stomach.

The woman that had rescued them- Audrey, Janice remembered- appeared beside the bed the sisters were sitting on, and the kind woman sat in the chair beside the bed as Margaret scurried away to help another child.

"Janice and Jenny, right?" Audrey asked, and after the girls nodded, she continued, "We are going to get you two a shower, some clean clothes, and a hair cut, and then in a few hours, Percy will be taking you to a Safe House a few miles from here. You and the others will be separated-"

"We won't be separated, will we?" Janice interrupted, gesturing to her and her sister.

Audrey shook her head with a smile. "No, siblings are staying together. In a few days, we will meet up and will get you two and the others out of the country, where you'll be safe. But in the mean time, I'll show you where the showers are."

Audrey led them to the bathroom a few rooms away. There were a few showers in there, and Audrey handed them each a towel and placed two sets of clothes on the chair outside the showers before stepping out of the room and telling them to call for her if they needed anything.

After getting her younger sister was in the shower, Janice stepped behind the curtain of the one beside the shower Jenny was in and turned on the hot water.

Janice jumped as the hot water flowed over her, and she closed her eyes, feeling the dirt and blood and dust and everything else wash away and wishing that her memories could wash away with the dirt. If only it were that easy…

After finishing her shower, Janice got her and her sister dressed, but before they left the room, she caught sight of herself in a mirror and stopped in her tracks.

Her face was sunken in with dark circles under her eyes, and her once shining blue-green eyes were now dull and almost hollow. She had a cut on her cheek bone, a cut that had been repeatedly opened by the ring of one of the female Death Eaters as the woman slapped her over and over again every single day. She'd always been small for her age, but now her scrawny form was downright skeletal. Her once beautiful brown hair was now limp and the sun hasn't shined on her brown hair in so long, it appeared to have been drained of all color, and remembering the pretty shade her hair had once been and looking at it now… Janice tried not to cry. Her skin was so pale, every freckle stood out like a sore thumb.

Janice's eyes drifted to her sister, and she swallowed.

Her sister looked much better than her, but Jenny was far from healthy or unharmed. She wasn't nearly as skinny because Janice had given her most of her food during their time as prisoners in the Ministry. Jenny's eyes still held light to them, an excited spark that all children should have, but if you looked beneath the smile and the twinkle in her eyes, you could see the haunted gaze in her green orbs, and Janice will be the first to tell you that no child should look haunted. Jenny didn't have any scars on her face, but Janice knew she had some on her torso and legs and one deep scar on her shoulder. Jenny was underweight for her age and was smaller than most kids, but her bones didn't stick out like some of Janice's did. Jenny had had dark brown hair to begin with, and it had stayed the same shade, despite all the months without seeing the sun, but even after her shower, it was tangled and frizzy, and Janice remembered the silky quality her sister's hair used to have. Jenny had a few freckles on her cheekbones, and her skin was pale. Unlike Janice, whose freckles had become more prominent as her skin became paler, Jenny's freckles paled with her skin until they were only faded brown spots under her eyes and around her nose.

All in all, they looked like shadows of their former selves, and it physically pained Janice to realize that.

Janice and Jenny stepped out of the bathroom to find Audrey waiting for them, and Audrey smiled, thinking of how much better the girls looked without the dirt or the dried blood all over their skin. With their skinny frames and pale skin and Janice's haunted eyes, they didn't look good, but they did look better.

The kids followed Audrey to the next room, and Audrey gestured for them to sit in one of the several chairs occupying the room.

"I am going to give you two a hair cut," Audrey told them. "With help from my good friend Oliver, of course."

A young man- around the same age as Percy and Audrey- waved at them.

"Believe it or not, he actually knows how to cut hair. I didn't think he even knew how to brush his hair," Audrey chuckled.

"Hey!" Oliver laughed. "Mine isn't nearly as bad as Percy's."

Audrey shrugged. "You have a point, but Percy's hair is downright untamable. You have no excuse. You look like you just rolled out of bed."

Oliver snorted. "It's a delicate hairstyle us boys are very experienced with," he told her before lightly brushing Jenny's soaked and wavy hair.

"Do you want your hair long or short?" Audrey questioned Janice.

"Long," Janice answered. "Can you cut Jenny's hair short, though? Our parents always did because my dad always said the longer her hair is, the harder it is to get a brush through it."

Oliver nodded. "Of course."

Half an hour later, Janice was handed a mirror, and a grin spread across her face as she stared at her hair. Audrey had only cut a few inches off (Janice's hair reached the top of her thighs after months with no hair cuts) and had unknowingly cut it the same way Janice's mom used to. Janice's brown hair was now even with the small of her back, and Audrey had placed a scarlet headband on Janice's head to keep her hair out of her eyes.

Janice glanced to the side and saw that Jenny's hair cut had been finished. Her dark hair now reached her chin, maybe a few centimeters past her jaw, and undulated with beautiful waves. It was still a little frizzy, but Jenny's hair was always frizzy. There was no escaping that.

Their hair cuts looked exactly like they did before they were captured by the Death Eaters, and Janice hoped that over time, her hair would return to the pretty shade it had once been instead of this limp, faded color. For now, though, the familiar hair cut was more than enough.

Janice turned around and surprised even herself by giving Audrey a hug.

"Thank you!" Janice exclaimed as she released Audrey from the sudden embrace.

Audrey laughed. "You're welcome," she told the small girl before looking up as the next child entered the room, led by Hazel.

It was time.

The kids had had showers, hair cuts, medical attention, some sleep, and had been fed, and before Percy knew it, it was time to split up.

Percy had returned to work before anyone had even noticed he was gone. In all the commotion that followed the kids' escape, no one had even known he had left, which was very beneficial. After working an extra hour (Percy almost always worked overtime, so even though he wanted to leave and check on Audrey and the kids they'd rescued, he forced himself to work another hour to avoid suspicion), he had returned to the base for the Freedom Fighters and found Audrey dividing the kids into groups, pairing one or two kids up with a Freedom Fighter, and the minute Percy stepped inside, Audrey informed Janice and Jenny that Percy would be their guide or whatever (they still hasn't figured out what to call this job other than a rescue mission).

Audrey took a shaky breath as the Freedom Fighters stood with the kids they'd been assigned to protect in the woods a little less than a mile from their headquarters.

"Ready?" she asked Percy.

Percy smiled, thinly. "Nope. Let's do this."

Famous last words, Percy thought as the Freedom Fighters grabbed the hands of the kid or kids they'd been assigned and branched off in different directions, all of them feeling like they were heading towards their doom as each small group now stood alone.

I apologize for any mistakes. I am incredibly tired and wanted to get this chapter posted as soon as possible, so my editing was not my best.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

I would like to start writing in some new fandoms. I have already started to branch out to new fandoms (I recently fell in love with Big Hero 6), but I am going to start taking requests. By requests, I don't necessarily mean prompts. I mean, books/series you would like me to read, movies/TV shows you would like me to watch. I cannot promise that I can follow through with every request (whether because there's something about it that makes me uncomfortable, like certain horror movies, or because I don't currently have access to the book/show/movie or another reason), but I will try to get to as many requests as possible.

Note: While I am taking requests, I can't promise I can start writing something in a new fandom right away. I have a lot of in progress stories right now, and while I am trying to finish them, my current in progress stories are my priority. That means, they're might be a one shot, but I will not be starting anymore in progress stories until I finish some of the ones I'm already doing.

Anyway, feel free to leave a request or positive/constructive feedback in the reviews or send me a PM. Thank you. Goodbye!