The Muggle-Born Registration Commission
Friday—15 August 1997
With Bill's permission, Kenneth took Monday off of work to stay at his flat with Karen. While the Ministry and the Daily Prophet weren't reporting what was happening to muggle-borns, Kingsley Shacklebolt had informed the Order of the Phoenix (and by extension, Bill had informed Kenneth), that nearly all of the first batch had been sent to Azkaban — though a couple simply had their wands taken away and snapped in half, and were run out of their homes over the weekend, reduced to begging. Kenneth's gut clenched every time he thought about what was going to happen to Karen's mother. Not that he would allow her to remain on the streets begging; he would smuggle her into his flat before that happened, and then get her out of the country, somehow.
David Pickford escorted his wife, Janice, to her inquiry because he worked at the Ministry and thought it best if he accompanied her. Kenneth stayed home with Karen, both of their nerves too raw to try and go to work. Of course, pacing the flat didn't help much, either… and there was only so much they could tune into on the wireless during the day.
Fred and George came by at lunch with Lee. It broke the monotony, but Fred, George, and Lee also had a way of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, and that was the last thing Kenneth wanted for Karen right now. He warily allowed them to come inside, but to his surprise, all three of his old dorm mates were more somber than usual.
"We just wanted to check on you both," Fred said solemnly, as Kenneth replaced the protective charms behind them. "We took a lunch break today."
"First time ever, I think," George said, trying to joke.
Lee held up two bags from the Leaky Cauldron. "Grease at its finest."
Karen gave them a small smile and quietly thankedthem for bringing lunch, but Kenneth couldn't manage a smile at all. His nerves were too taut and the wait was killing him. Maybe he shouldhave gone to work. At least he would have kept busy, and that would have kept his mind off the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. But he also absolutely couldn't leave Karen alone today. Going out of his mind with worry was a small price to pay if it meant Karen wasn't alone.
"Of course, traipsing through Diagon Alley these days is such a joy…" Fred's lip curled. "So fucking annoying we can't Apparate on the actual street itself."
Kenneth knew what Fred meant. Diagon Alley had seen a marked change in the past month. Posters of Undesirable No. One now papered the windows of nearly every shop. And if they had thought the Alley was dead before Dumbledore's death, it was nothing to the new shops that were popping up at the rate of one or two a week, all of them devoted to the Dark Arts and other such rubbish. It was disturbing. It was as if Knockturn Alley had spilled into Diagon. At least the rent was pretty low because of it.
"So…" George said, sitting down on the sofa and speaking seriously to Karen. "When will you find out…?"
She shook her head and sat down next to him. Her expression was pinched and she was twisting her fingers together. "I don't know. Dad said he would let me know as soon asMum sees theCommission."
Lee passed around fish-n-chips and said, "I can stay a while after lunch. Fred and George have to go back to work, but we agreed I could stay here if you two need me to hang around."
Kenneth met their eyes. "Thank you. We really appreciate it. And the food, too. But we'll be okay. You should all go back to work; the new school year is about to start and I'm sure you have a lot of students coming into the store."
"Not as many as you'd think," George said darkly. "Parents don't want to come to Diagon right now."
Karen agreed. "Still. You probably have owl orders to fill. And just knowing the three of you are around makes us feel better. Alicia and Angelina, too."
"The question is," Fred muttered, "will they let yourmum go or will they send her to Azkaban?"
Karen gripped her fish-n-chips' wrapper a bit tightly. "It's the not knowing that's driving me mad," she whispered.
There was another knock on the door, and Kenneth rose to get it before anyone else could,mostly to give himself something to do besides stare at his fish-n-chips and not eat. But to his surprise, when he asked who was on the other side, a girl's voice answered.
"Chrysanthe Hayden. I was Head Girl in the 1995-1996 school year, and you were Head Boy. I realized you fancied Karen and arranged for the two of you to go on a date in Hogsmeade in October 1995. Want me to go on, Kenneth, or are you going to open the fucking door?"
"Is she serious?" Fred sputtered, a chip halfway to his mouth. "Chrysanthe is the reason you two started dating?"
Karen gave him a small smile. "Yes. She told me Kenneth secretly fancied me and asked if I would be interested in going on a date with him. He wasn't my usual type, but Chrysanthe said maybe that was the problem… maybe I should be dating someone other than my usual type. And she was right."
Kenneth rolled his eyes as he removed the charms again. He didn't particularly want Fred, George, and Lee knowing everything about his relationship with Karen, but he supposed it didn't matter in the long run.
When he opened the door, Chrysanthe was standing on the other side alone. Kenneth bristled and said, "It's not safe to be in Diagon Alley by yourself. You know that. Where is Danny?"
"Never you mind," she answered darkly, as she stepped inside. "I'd rather not say, given the current state of affairs."
Kenneth couldn't argue with that. As he replaced the protective charms, she moved into the room and conjured a chair for herself.
"Sorry, Chrysanthe," George said apologetically. "We didn't know you were coming, or we would have grabbed lunch for you, too."
Chrysanthe shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm not really hungry." She glanced at Kenneth as he went back to his chair. "I Apparated directly onto the landing,Kenneth. I didn't walk through Diagon Alley. I'm not stupid."
"Good," he said, sitting back down.
"Thought you could use the company," she added, her eyes flickering to Karen. "But I see these three had the same thought."
Karen smiled at her. "I appreciate you stopping by just the same. I've been worried about Danny, too."
Chrysanthe'smouth was a thin line, almost as thin as McGonagall's could go. She replied, "You and me, both."
"Alicia's mum,also," Kenneth said quietly. "She's muggle-born, too. And Katie Bell."
"Oh, don't worry about Katie," George replied, popping a chip in his mouth. "Oliver's probably already got that sorted. He won't let anything happen to her."
"True," Fred agreed, smirking.
Lee frowned. "I'm not worried about Katie. Like these two said, Oliver will keep her safe, somehow. But Angelina told us that the Spinnetsaren't leaving. She and Alicia went by to try and talk sense into them, but they just said they didn't think things were all that bad. Ang said Alicia's really upset about it."
"Of course she is," Chrysanthe replied sharply. "It's her parents, damn it. Helga's tits, why the hell can't they understand how serious this is?"
Kenneth suddenly wasn'thungry at all. He felt a miserable twinge of guilt in his stomach, and heplaced his fish-n-chips on the tea table before he said quietly, "My parents don't get it, either. Actually… I had a big fight with them on Sunday. I stormed out and told them I wasn't coming back, because they were being right fucking idiots about the whole damned thing. I really blew up at them."
"Kenneth!" Chrysanthe's voice was exasperated, scolding, and proud all at the same time.
Fred, however, merely grinned. "Good for you, Kenny. Knew you were a good egg."
"Oh, is that what you called pranking me for seven fucking years?" Kenneth threw a chip at him.
Ignoring that, George smirked, too. "It's the reverse of what happened in our family," he said to Fred.
Kenneth glowered at both them. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, you know. Our… third brother. He stormed out because we were all siding with Dumbledore instead of the Ministry," George explained. "But you stormed out on your family because your parents are siding with the Ministry — or at least willfully ignoring what the Ministry is doing,which is passive acceptance. It's kind of amusing,if I'm honest. You were a much better Head Boy than… our third brother. At least we know you're on Dumbledore's side. We've always known that."
"Yeah." Fred nodded. "We may have pranked your arse all the time, because it was so bloody easy to do, but we still knew you believed Dumbledore. Unlike our arsehole ponce of a third brother."
Kenneth felt they could at least say Percy's name, but he didn't say that. The twins would just get annoyed.
Instead, one of the most worrying things he could imagine happened next. Lee frowned and said, "You know, that's something I don't understand, Kenneth. Fred, George, and I — wereall in the Order. But even though we know you're on Dumbledore's side, you aren'tin the Order. I know you were worried about your dad for a while, because he forbid you to join… but if you just became estranged from your family, what's stopping you now?"
"Yeah," Fred echoed thoughtfully. "Why haven't you joined?"
Kenneth looked away and muttered, "You know I'm not good at Defense. You lot didn't invite me to join Dumbledore's Army, after all."
"Bollocks," George said, rolling his eyes. "I mean, it's true, we didn't invite you to join the D.A., but you arepretty decent at Defense. Not as good as that one minted arsehole Slytherin in our class who was always fucking top of Defense, but you weren't bad, you know. You got a N.E.W.T. in it, right?"
Kenneth found himself slightly angry at them for bitching about Pucey like that, but he didn't say anything. A year ago, he hated Pucey just as much as they did, after all. It had taken a long time before he'd felt he understood the atypical Slytherin better.
"You really should consider joining the Order," Lee suggested.
It took all Kenneth had to bite his tongue. What he wouldn't give to tell them he was already a member, and that he'd been a member since July of the previous year, just like they had been? That he and Bill had been working together this whole time to uncover money trails in the Gringotts' accounts, that he had been reading people's minds to try and figure out what was going on, and that Pucey was a bloody Order member too, who had helped decode Gerald Harper's cipher, and that Pucey had also arranged three new safehouses for the Order? It wasn't fair, damn it. Why had Dumbledore insisted on Kenneth and Pucey remaining invisible, when they were the two members who would have benefited from being known? If Fred, George, and Lee had been told from the beginning that Kenneth and Pucey were in the Order, they would have been a lot more understanding. Hell, they probably would have accepted Pucey by this point!
Because what you're doing has to stay secret, the logical voice in his head insisted. Because no one can know you're sniffing through Gringotts' accounts. Because Pucey would be in a hell of lot of danger if anyone knew he was involved. If the wrong person found out…
His gut clenched. If the wrong person found out, Kenneth could get killed. Bill, too. Hell, Pucey was in evenmore danger than they were. If Pucey's old Slytherin classmates found out about his allegiances, he would become an instant target for the Death Eaters. As far as Kenneth knew, Pucey was the sole Slytherin fighting against his own house.
All he said was, "I'll think about it."
Fortunately, the twins and Lee did not press the point. When they finished their lunch (Karen and Kenneth barely touched theirs), the three of them left to return to work, but Chrysanthe stayed.
"I'll hang around until your dad drops by," she said shortly. "If you don't mind."
Karen finally let her forced smile fade away. "You know I don't mind. You're my best friend."
It was a long afternoon. But around 3:30, there was a knock on the door. All of them jumped; Kenneth strode to the door before either of the girls could, his wand out and ready.
"Declare yourself."
"David Pickford," came the quiet, tremulous reply.
Karen was at Kenneth's side in seconds. Her voice shook slightly as she asked through the door, "What was the nickname you and Mum called me as a child?"
"Bunny," her father said softly. "Because your mother thought you bounced all over the place, and you were always so cheerful."
Her face was stark white, but Karen nodded to Kenneth, and he reversed the protective charms and opened the door.
David Pickford's eyes were rimmed in red and he was alone, and Kenneth knew at that moment that the worst had happened. He pulled the man inside, quickly locked the door, and replaced the charms. When he turned around, Karen and her father were hugging each other tightly. Both were crying.
"I didn't even get to tell her goodbye," Mr. Pickford whispered, his voice choked with tears. "They ordered the Dementors to take her away on the charge of theft of magic…! I couldn't do anything, bunny! I tried to tell them that I was a Record Officer for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and that there had been no record of the previous batch of muggle-borns being sent to Azkaban, but they just told me to get back to work and accused me of marrying…" He trailed off before he whispered, "I won't repeat what they called your mother. Oh, Merlin, I don't know what to do!" He broke down again and Karen held him tighter as she sobbed, too.
Kenneth suddenly realized someone was tugging his sleeve. He glanced behind him and saw Chrysanthe; she jerked her head silently towards the kitchen in a request that he follow her. Reluctantly, Kenneth allowed her to pull him from the sitting room.
Chrysanthe closed the kitchen door. The shutters on the pass-through were closed as well, and she cast a privacy charm before turning to face him. Her face was grim and her mouth was a thin line.
"It's only going to get worse," she said quietly, but with steel in her voice. "You and I… we know that. We know what thatbitchis like, better than anyone else."
Kenneth sighed and raked a hand in his hair. "Yes, but this isn't Hogwarts," he reminded her. "Bloody hell, Chrysanthe. We couldn't do anything then, and we certainly can't do anything now. Umbridge works for the Ministry of Magic, which is being run by Death Eaters, and you and I… we're just…" He hesitated. They weren't kids, but damn it, at that moment, he didn't feel much like an adult, either.
"You're right, there isn't much we can do. Even if we joined the Order." Chrysanthe leveled him with a piercing look. "And unless You-Know-Who is defeated soon, they'll eventually run out of muggle-borns to persecute. Who do you think they'll go after next?"
Kenneth's blood went cold. She was absolutely right. But all he whispered was, "You know Karen won't leave. She'll want to fight."
"I know. But she's not as good at Defense as others are. She only got an Exceeds Expectations because she managed to cast a Patronus."
"I know that, but there won't be any talking her out of it. You Hufflepuffs, you're stubborn as hell," Kenneth replied hopelessly.
At that, Chrysanthe gave him a ghost of a smile. "I can't argue with that. Well." Her face took on that hard, strange expression again, and he shivered unconsciously as she went on, "I know you'll protect her as much as you can. You and I are alike in that regard."
"That's why Dumbledore made us Head Boy and Girl," Kenneth said softly, thinking back to the conversation he'd had with Alicia, Angelina, Pucey, and Karen after Dumbledore's death.
"What?" She looked confused.
He decided to tell her the truth. Chrysanthe had a way of worming it out of someone, regardless. It was really uncanny how she could that, he thought.
"Adrian Pucey had a conversation with Dumbledore just before we graduated. Dumbledore told him that he nearly made Pucey and Alicia Head Boy and Girl, but ultimately he decided that you and I would protect the students better."
Chrysanthe frowned and asked slowly, "Since when are you on speaking terms with Adrian Pucey?"
Kenneth flushed. "It's a long story. Never mind."
"One day, I want to hear it."
Well.That wasn't like Chrysanthe. She normally dragged stuff out of people the second she learned something interesting. She could be trusted, but by Godric, when she was determined to learn more, Chrysanthe could wheedle even an Unspeakable to talk. Hell, Kenneth had just admitted he and Pucey were communicating to some extent, and her eyes weren't lighting up to know more right that second.
He frowned at her."What's going on, 'Santhe?"
To his surprise, she gave him that hard, glittering, burning look made the hair on his neck stand up.
Vaguely, she answered, "I'm going to protect someone."
Shite.
Kenneth's eyes widened, but Chrysanthe cut him off before he could tell her not to do what he suddenly realized she was going to do.
"Don't, Kenneth. Don't try to talk me out of it. You know I'm stubborn. I'm not going to change my mind. I won't tell you anything else,just in case anyone questions you. All I want you to do is this: if a real fight breaks out… if Harry Potter returns and it looks like a battle is going to take place… let me know. Have Karen send me a Patronus. And don't tell anyone about this conversation,not even her."
"Won't that be dangerous, if the wrong people see a Patronus?" he asked sardonically.
Chrysanthe gave him an eerie smile. "I can erase memories if I have to. Don't underestimate me. I have six N.E.W.T.'s myself, you know."
"I would never underestimate you," he said,his voice now sober and quiet. "I worked with you too closely for a year to ever make that mistake."
"And…" Chrysanthe glanced towards the door back to the sitting room before she said quietly, "If something were to happen to Karen, have one of the Weasley twins send me a Patronus instead. TheirPatronuses are small, too. Don't send yours; I know you dislike it as much as I dislike mine. I plan to ask one other person to contact me if a real fight takes place, just as a contingency plan. If Umbridge taught me anything, it's to always have a fucking contingency plan." She hesitated, then suddenly hugged him tightly and whispered, "Goodbye, Kenneth. Stay safe, love. You'll always be my Head Boy."
Kenneth swallowed and hugged her firmly in return. "Goodbye to you, too. I'll miss you. You'll always be my Head Girl. And for the love of Godric, stay safe. Both of you," he added pointedly.
She nodded, stepped back, and released the privacy charm before she walked back into the sitting room.
Karen and her father broke apart when they heard Chrysanthe re-enter the room. Karen wiped tears from her face and hugged Chrysanthe.
"Thank you for sitting with us today," she whispered.
"Of course, love," Chrysanthe said softly. "Don't lose hope. I know everything seems hopeless right now, but… don't lose hope.I need to go though, I'm afraid. I'll see you later." She gave Karen one last hug, nodded to Mr. Pickford, opened the door, andstepped outside.
Her eyes met Kenneth's one final time before she pulled the door closed.
An unpleasant sense of dread settled in Kenneth's stomach. He wondered if he would ever see Chrysanthe Hayden again.
When Chrysanthe reappeared, she was in the Scottish highlands, standing before a castle. She'd been there only two months earlier, for a wedding, and that day had been much the same as the current one: overcast, cloudy, windy, and chilly. But at least it had been happy. Today wasn't happy.
Without hesitation, she strode up to the drawbridge.
"Declare yourself!" a sharp voice called from high above on the battlements, and Chrysanthe looked up unflinchingly, her blonde curls tangling in the sharp wind.
"Chrysanthe Hayden!" she yelled back. "I was Head Girl at Hogwarts after Bess Oakfield Galbraith! In my fifth-year, I got drunk off my arse after I had a fight with my boyfriend, and Bess took me back into the girl's dormitories and gave me a Hangover Potion before Sprout came in, so I wouldn't land in detention! I need to see her, please!"
The guard frowned and signaled someone else behind him, someone that she couldn't see from her position on the ground.
Chrysanthe knew it would be a bit of a wait. The Galbraiths were cautious, and there was no telling how long it would take them to locate Bess inside the castle and notify her of a visitor. She cast a warming charm around herself and resigned to standing there for ten minutes before the narrow door in the drawbridge finally opened. One of Conall's uncles stepped out and frowned, his wand pointed at her.
"Who attempted to take advantage of you the same night Bess gave you a Hangover Potion?" he asked in a hard voice.
"Cameron Fielding, the fucking prick," Chrysanthe growled. "I should've cursed his arse."
He nodded once at her answer and stepped aside to let her pass,though his expression did not change. She didn't blame him; they were living in dangerous times, after all.
Once inside the entry courtyard, she saw that Bess and Conall waiting for her, though both looked wary and had their wands out. Chrysanthe smiled and said,"You can ask me additional security questions if you wish. I would not be offended."
"How many boys did you date before Danny?" Bess demanded, the tension evident in her tone.
"One, but I can't say he really counted. Not like we did much of anything except flirt badly and try to kiss once. Helga's fucking tits, but Adam Hodge couldn't kiss worth a damn."
At that, Bess relaxed and grinned. "I remember you told me that at the time. Come on inside, lass. Must be something pretty rotten to bring you to the Highlands on a day like this, I reckon."
"You could say that."
They didn't speak again until they were in one of the upstairs parlors and Conall had cast a number of privacy and protective charms around the room. Bess asked a house elf to bring tea, and once they were all seated, Chrysanthe turned to her to explain.
"Karen Pickford's mother was arrested today after her invitationto appear before the Commission. Her father's hands were tied. If they didn't appear before the Commission, he would have likely lost his job and they would have both been arrested. When he told them he was a Record Keeper for the Office of Magical Law Enforcement, and that he didn't have records of any of the previous batch of muggle-borns being sent to Azkaban, they told him to keep his damn mouth shut, get on with his work, and added that he shouldn't have married a mudblood."
At that, Bess and Conall both stiffened and looked at each other darkly, and Conall muttered, "We'd wondered what the Commission was actually doing with the muggle-borns they were allegedly interviewing. So they're definitely imprisoning them, then?"
Chrysanthe nodded. "I warned Kenneth to take care of Karen. At some point, they'll run out of muggle-borns and shift to half-bloods."
Bess clenched her hands in her lap angrily. "Aye, I suspect you're right."
Conall's mouth was set in a firm line. "Bess and I have requested to join the Order of the Phoenix. They need fighters, and the Galbraiths have always been on Dumbledore's side."
"Be careful. Both of you. Please."
"We will," Bess assured her. "But we can't sit by and do nothing." She glanced up at her husband. "Conall met with Bill Weasley a few nights ago and asked if we could join. Bill was only a year below him at Hogwarts, so we thought he would be the best person to ask."
Conall frowned. "He wasn't keen onit, though. I tried to tell him that he wasn't recruiting us—we wereaskingto join. There's a difference,damn it. He still got pretty stubborn about it, though. I ended up telling him I'd speak to his father directly if Bill wouldn't recommend me and Bess himself."
Bess put her hand on Conall's and said quietly, "He feels responsible for Dougal and Fergus's deaths, you know that. He doesn't want to be responsible for anyone else. Dougal was his best mate. He watched both of them die,chridhe. Horrifically, from what I heard. That's not easy."
"I know all of that. But that's just it, and Fergus would have joined up regardless of whether Bill recruited them. The Woods aren't the type to stand by and do nothing."
Chrysanthe interrupted, "I would join, but I'm going into hiding with Danny. That's what I came by to tell you."
Both Bess and Conall stopped talking and stared at her.
"What?" Conall repeated.
"Danny is muggle-born," Chrysanthe reminded them. "He's at his parents' right now, asking them to consider moving to another city just in case the Death Eaters come around, trying to find him there. He has three younger sisters and the idea of Death Eaters killing his family because of him…" She trailed off, then went on firmly, "We've put protective charms over their house, but I don't know that those will do any good. I even took out some of my personal inheritance to help them with the moving expenses. But regardless of whether they move or not, Danny and I are both going to go into hiding together."
Bess sucked in a quick breath. "Eh, lass, if they catch you aiding a muggle-born…"
"Hark who's talking," Chrysanthe snorted. "What do you think they'll do to you if they know you're in the bloody Order?"
"Aye, well. Still. It's one thing to be in the Order, another to be caught on the run with a muggle-born."
Chrysanthe gave her a dark smile. "Well, it helps that I'm a pureblood. Though — if you want to get technical, aren't we all half-bloods? But, it doesn't matter. According to their rules, I'm considered a pureblood. TheDeath Eaters aren't keento spill magical blood if they can avoid it. And right now, I need to keep the man I love safe. I won't tell you where we're going, in case they come to you for information. All I want you to do is send me a Patronus if a fight occurs. A real fight, I mean. Not just a skirmish. If Harry Potter returns to fight You-Know-Who head on — and I believe he will, at some point — send me a Patronus and let me know. Danny and I both want to fight if that happens."
Bess put her hand on Conall's again to stop him from trying to stop Chrysanthe. Instead, she said, "What is your Patronus, love? Show us so we'll recognize it if you send it to us."
Chrysanthe rolled her eyes, but raised her wand. "Just so you know, I hate my Patronus." With that, she said sharply, "Expecto Patronum!"
A silver mule burst forth and stood beside Chrysanthe for a moment, its ears twitching slightly as it looked between Bess and Conall, before it vanished into silver sparkles of magic.
Bess was already laughing before it had even dissolved. "Helga's tits, Chrysanthe! A mule?If that's not the most perfect animal for you!"
Chrysanthe sighed and said in a disgruntled voice, "That's what Sprout told me when she saw it during my Defense N.E.W.T. practical." At that, she mimicked the professor's voice almost too well and recited, "But Chrysanthe, dear! Mulesrepresent other things besides stubbornness! They also represent strength, resilience, and determination! They can carry heavy burdens without faltering and can survive in the harshest of environments!" Chrysanthe'slip curled. "Well, we're about to test that last bit, aren't we? I guess I'll see if I really can survive in a harsh environment."
Bess just gave her a sad, knowing smile. "I know you don't think it's a pretty animal, like some other people's Patronuses, but I agree with Sprout. It suits you."
Chrysanthe ignored that. "I assume you can both cast a Patronus, so I should see what they are before I take my leave, in case you send one to me."
Conall nodded. "We can both cast one. But you definitely don't want me to send mine to you." With that, he raised his wand, cast nonverbally, and a burst of silver light exploded into a huge bear. It stood as tall as Conall himself, at at least 6'4" — its mouth opened in a silent roar with teeth bared and silver saliva dripping down.
Chrysanthe grinned wickedly up at it. "Well, that would terrify the wrong person. It's definitely you, though. Bears represent strength and courage."
"Aye, because they're symbols of warriors. Still, like I said— best to use Bess's if we need to reach you." He grinned.
Bess laughed and cast her Chrysanthe's surprise, a little wolverine materialized and scurried around their feet for a few moments before it also vanished into silver tendrils.
Grinning, Bess said, "Wolverinesrepresent several interesting things, actually."
Conall chuckled. "Like courage, strength, fierceness, and cleverness. All of which suit you, lass."
Bess added, "They also represent endurance, and the ability to stand one's ground. Sounds a lot like Hufflepuff House, doesn't it?"
Chrysanthe nodded. "That it does. Who knows, maybe I'll get used to my stubborn-arse mule in time."
"Well, let us know if you need anything," Conall said seriously. "You and Danny are both always welcome here."
"We won't put either of you, or anyone else, in that kind of danger. But thank you. I should be going. I only wanted to let you know to contact me if a real battle breaks out so we can fight, too."
Five minutes later, standing outside the drawbridge door, Bess hugged Chrysanthe. "What about your parents?" she asked softly.
Chrysanthe stepped away from her and met her gaze evenly. "Goodbye, Bess."
She Disapparated before Bess could stop her.
A few moments later, Danny let her in his small, cramped muggle flat and gave her a bitter smile. "I still say you don't have to come with me, babe. There's no sense in you putting yourself in danger just because of me."
Chrysanthe snorted humorlessly. "Don't be daft, Danny. We've already cancelled the lease and packed everything away."
"You can still change your mind and go back to Hayden Park," he reminded her, sliding his arms around her waist.
She smiled and looped her arms around his neck. "Not on your life. You're stuck with me, Youngman, whether you like it or not. And you may need me out there."
"Well," he grinned, "I knew when I was fifteen I was gonna marry you. Let's just hope we can survive this ridiculous war and make it happen, yeah?"
Chrysanthe laughed and kissed him. "Here's hoping."