Content Harry Potter
  • Previous
  • Next

Author Notes:

Fabian and Gideon Prewett, who were two of "the best wizards" in the original Order of the Phoenix, were killed in the first war and were Molly Weasley's brothers. Many thanks to my brilliant Brit-picker, Kelpie, and my fabulous beta team, Blakevich, Starfox, Iris and Asad


Harry smiled at his headmaster as the staircase began to carry him and Ron down toward the entrance door. Suddenly, his scar flamed with pain and he collapsed, falling hard on the stairs.

"Harry!" Ron cried, reaching out to grab his friend before he tumbled farther down the moving staircase. Ron caught Harry by the arm and hauled back on him as hard as he could, falling backwards onto the stairs himself as he tried to save him. The stairs stopped moving, then reversed, going upward again.

"What happened?" Dumbledore said as he helped Ron pull Harry onto the landing and get him into the office.

"It’s his scar," Ron said. Harry was beyond hearing them, moaning in pain as he clutched his scar, writhing on the floor in agony, sweat pouring off his body. "He needs a cold cloth. I’ll be right back," Ron said, then ran into the bathroom attached to Harry’s room and quickly returned with a cold, damp flannel. He pressed it to Harry’s scar as Dumbledore tried to hold the young man still.

"We need to put him to bed," Dumbledore said sadly. "He’ll hurt himself on the floor." He started to Levitate Harry, but Ron stopped him.

"No! He hates that! It makes him feel worse," Ron said urgently. "I’ll lift him when he stops thrashing around." He put a Cushioning Charm on the floor so Harry would be a bit more comfortable.

"It’s apparent you’ve seen many more of these episodes than I have," Dumbledore said, glancing at the redhead with appreciation. "You know just what to do."

"Yeah, I’ve had years of practice now," Ron said with a sigh.

Finally, Harry lay quite still, gasping for breath as he pressed his hands tightly against the lightning-shaped mark.

"Are you all right?" Dumbledore said quietly.

"Scar. . . ." Harry whispered. His face was stark white, his skin cold and clammy.

"This was a bad one, wasn’t it, mate?" Ron said sympathetically. "Are you going to be sick?"

Harry nodded weakly, and Ron pulled Dumbledore away as Harry vomited spectacularly.

Dumbledore Vanished the sick and ran his hand over the boy’s forehead. "You’re cold. Do you want a blanket?"

Harry nodded, then took the damp cloth Ron was still holding against his scar and wiped his face with it as he tried to sit up. He was shaky, weak, and pale as a ghost.

"Let me help you, mate," Ron said, helping Harry sit up and taking the flannel from him. "D’you want me to carry you?"

"No, I can walk," Harry said with more confidence than he felt.

Ron helped him get to his feet. "You need to rest." He led Harry to the bed in his room and helped him lie down, covering him gently with a blanket. "Better?"

Harry clutched his scar and curled up in a ball of misery, apparently lost in whatever nightmarish vision he’d had.

"Harry? Have you been doing your Occlumency?" Dumbledore asked with concern. Harry nodded, then groaned, sat up a bit and vomited again. Dumbledore Vanished the sick once more as Ron wiped his friend’s face with the flannel. Harry grabbed the cloth again and pressed it against his scar, moaning as he did so.

"What happened?" Dumbledore said seriously. "It must have been something awful to get past your Occlumency."

Harry nodded, then looked up at his headmaster and his friend with anguished eyes. "P. . .p. . .Percy," he muttered.

"Percy?" Ron said in shock. "What about him?"

"Voldemort . . . Percy," Harry said, still in agony. He pressed the flannel against his scar, closing his eyes against the pain. "Percy. He’s . . ."

"He’s not a Death Eater, is he?" Ron gasped.

Harry shook his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could get the nightmare vision out of his head, but he knew he had to relive it so he could tell the others. I have to tell the others. Yes. I have to tell them now. So just do it already! Swallowing the bile that threatened to overwhelm him again, Harry took a deep breath and forced his eyes open. He looked at Ron, then Dumbledore. "You have to find the Weasleys and the Grangers right away. Get them to somewhere safe. Straight away."

"Why?" Ron said as Dumbledore straightened up, already preparing to contact people.

"I’ll send them to Order Headquarters, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Which Weasleys do we need to find?"

"All of them," Harry said, "to be safe. Start with his parents. And the Grangers, don’t forget the Grangers," he added urgently. Dumbledore moved away.

"What happened?" Ron asked urgently. "Are Mum and Dad OK? What’s going on?"

"Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said from across the room, "you should contact your sister and Miss Granger and ask them to come up here immediately."

Ron nodded and got out his Famous Wizards Card. "I need you to tell Hermione and Ginny to come to Dumbledore’s office as fast as they can," Ron said to the photographic image of Harry. "Try not to scare them."

"What should I tell them when they ask why they need to come up here?" the little Harry said, curious as ever.

"Tell them Dumbledore wants to see them," Ron said, thinking fast. "Don’t scare them. Just get them to come quickly."

"OK!" the picture of Harry said brightly, then flew out of the edge of his frame.

Harry had begun to relax a bit as the pain finally subsided. He pushed himself upright and looked at his headmaster with haunted eyes. "Did you find them?"

"The Weasleys, yes. It will take a bit longer to contact the Grangers. I’ve sent Order members to their house as well as their office to find them."

"Who did you send?" Harry asked, his eyes suddenly anxious. "Did you send Remus or Tonks?"

"Yes, Tonks is one of those . . ."

"CALL HER BACK! Don’t let her go!" Harry said, frantic now. "Percy . . . Percy was tortured by Voldemort. He’s been under Imperius for years. Barty Crouch, Jr., cast it first, then when he died, Lucius Malfoy did it, and then this Dorking bloke took over when Malfoy died.  Percy just told Voldemort where to find everyone who’s important to me and my friends, everyone who isn’t safe at Hogwarts," he said, his voice breaking with emotion. "He’s going after all the Weasleys, the Grangers and Remus and Tonks! But Remus is here, isn’t he?" Dumbledore nodded. "At least he’s safe, then. Voldemort’s already tried to go after the Dursleys, but the blood protection must still be in place."

"I’ll call Tonks in and I’ll make sure Remus doesn’t go anywhere, either," Dumbledore said, doing his best to calm the boy. "Try to relax, Harry. We’ll do everything we can."

"I know, but what if it isn’t enough?" he cried, his voice breaking with emotion. "It’s not fair, it’s just not fair."

"Mr. Weasley, I still have messages to send, and it sounds as if the girls are at the door," Dumbledore said quickly. "Let them in and try to keep them calm. I’ll be right back," he said, hurrying into his office.

Ron ran to the door and opened it, his white face shocking the girls. "What’s wrong?" Hermione said, terrified by his expression. "Are you all right?"

"Where’s Harry?" Ginny demanded urgently, pushing past her brother.

Ron pointed toward Harry’s room, unable to speak. Ginny raced through the door to find her boyfriend.

"Ron, what’s wrong? Is Harry OK?" Hermione said, trying to get him to focus on her. "Talk to me!"

"Come on," Ron said darkly, taking her hand and leading her to Harry’s room.

"What’s wrong with him?" Hermione said, not budging from her spot. She was terrified now. Ron was acting so oddly. Something horrible must have happened to Harry. "Did those Cabinet people do something to him? What happened?"

"No. It’s scar pain. He’s OK," Ron said, his voice tense. His face was still ghastly white, his hands trembling. "Come on."

They entered the room to find Ginny and Harry with their arms around each other. Ginny’s face was confused, but she was doing her best to comfort him.

"You haven’t told her yet, have you?" Ron said in an unnatural voice. Harry shook his head. "Go on, then. We’re all here."

Harry looked up at Ron uneasily. His best mate was looking at him with fear plain on his face. "Um . . . Percy got fired today," Harry began.

"What?" Ginny said, shocked. "Why?"

"Skip that part, Harry. Tell them the important stuff," Ron insisted.

"That’s where it began, though," Harry said uncertainly. He and Ron exchanged a look that seemed to strengthen both of them somehow. "OK. Percy was told to go and clear out his desk at the Ministry, but there were Death Eaters waiting for him as soon as he got off Hogwarts’ grounds. I suppose Whittier and Tonks turned the people they were escorting loose as soon as they got off the grounds so they could Apparate, since their memories of classified things had been erased. At any rate, Percy was captured and taken to Voldemort, who tortured him. He told Voldemort where to find all the people who are important to me or my friends. Your families are in danger, as are Remus and Tonks. Dumbledore is sending them to Order Headquarters to protect them. That’s the gist of it." He shuddered, seeing horrors they couldn’t even imagine.

"Our families?" Ginny breathed. "Mum and Dad?" Harry nodded.

"My parents too?" Hermione said in a small voice. Her legs began to wobble and she just barely made it to a nearby chair before they gave out on her.

Harry looked at her for a long moment and nodded, then said, "I’m sorry."

"It’s not your fault," Ginny said stoutly.

"No, it isn’t," Hermione agreed sadly. "So they’re at Grimmauld Place?" she said a bit more hopefully.

"He’s trying to get them there, yes," Harry agreed.

"TRYING?" she squeaked.

"Since they’re Muggles, it’s harder to contact them," Harry explained.

Dumbledore came into the room. "Feeling better, Harry?"

"A bit," he said in a low voice. "Did you find everyone?"

"All the Weasleys have been located and are on their way to headquarters. I’ve called Tonks back from the field, and she should be at headquarters soon. She’s near the twins’ shop, so she’s going to come in with them." He turned sad eyes to Hermione. "Your parents are not at home nor at their office. Do you have any idea where they would be?"

Hermione paled. She gulped, trying to force her brain to work. "Um . . ." She looked at her watch. "It’s time for them to go home. They’ll be in their car. They might be stuck in traffic somewhere, or perhaps they took the Tube today if there are a lot of roadworks in London. They hate sitting in traffic queues."

"Ah, good, that’s helpful!" Dumbledore said brightly, then disappeared into his office again.

"What happened to Percy?" Ginny asked suddenly. "You said Voldemort was torturing him."

"Erm . . . you don’t want to know, baby," Harry said sadly, tenderly tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Is he . . . dead?" she asked in a small voice.

"No. Not dead," Harry said, his voice and expression bleak.

"Then what? Tell us, mate," Ron insisted.

Harry sighed. "Percy put up quite a struggle. He didn’t want to give Voldemort any information. He fought the Cruciatus Curse as hard as he could. He pissed off Voldemort by refusing to tell for so long, so when he finally got the information he wanted, he . . ." Harry shook his head, unable to go on.

"He what?" Ron cried.

Harry turned tormented eyes up to his best mate. "He . . . he tortured him into insanity. He’s like the Longbottoms now. I don’t know if Voldemort will leave him that way or kill him. He was still thinking about it when I managed to pull out of the vision."

His friends gasped in horror and sat wide-eyed and trembling for a long time. A single fat tear slid down Hermione’s face. Ginny’s face was so pale, her freckles stood out like beacons against its whiteness. Her dark eyes glistened with unshed tears. Ron stood by Hermione’s chair, his hand on her shoulder, too caught up in his own emotions to be able to comfort her more.

Dumbledore came striding into the room again. "I’ve made a Portkey to take you to headquarters," he said, holding out a shabby old carpet slipper.

"Have you found my parents yet?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide and frightened.

"Not yet," Dumbledore replied. "We’re doing everything we can, Miss Granger, I promise you."

"Why couldn’t they have had protections like Harry’s relatives?" she demanded harshly.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore began, but then thought better of it. "Nothing I say will comfort you right now. Go to headquarters and wait for me there. Everyone should be there soon."

"Where’s Remus?" Harry said suddenly.

"On his way up here. He’ll go with you via this Portkey," Dumbledore replied.

Harry relaxed the tiniest bit. At least his godfather would be safe, rather than outside somewhere looking for his wife. And the Weasleys, except for poor Percy. But what about the Grangers?

"Where’s Tonks?" Harry said.

"She and the twins should be at headquarters by now," Dumbledore assured him. "Ah, I hear the staircase. That will be Remus." He left to greet the other man.

"What’s going on?" Remus asked, looking quite confused.

"Harry will tell you when you get there," Dumbledore said, holding out the carpet slipper. "This is your Portkey. Tonks should be there waiting for you. I’ll join you as soon as I can."

Remus looked anxious and confused, but took the Portkey and held it out for the others to touch.

"Three, two, one," Dumbledore said, and suddenly Harry, Remus, Ginny, Hermione and Ron all felt the tug behind their navels as the Portkey activated, taking them to Harry’s home and Order headquarters. They landed in the hall near the front door. Ron stumbled and knocked Ginny into Harry. Remus helped Hermione stay upright.

"Ron! Ginny!" Molly Weasley cried. "Are you all right? When Albus told us to come here, he said it was some kind of emergency."

"Are Bill, Charlie and the twins here?" Ron asked anxiously, looking around.

"The twins aren’t here yet. What’s going on?" Arthur said, hugging his daughter, who had burst into tears at the sight of her parents. "Ginny? What’s wrong?"

"Where are the twins?" Ron asked anxiously.

"I don’t know," Arthur said. "Albus said he’d contacted all of us. That’s the last I heard."

"We need to go find them!" Ron said, turning toward the door.

"No, we don’t," Harry said grimly as he grabbed Ron’s arm.

"Give over, Harry! I’m going to find them!" Ron insisted, trying to get away from Harry’s restraining hand.

"No!" Harry persisted. "They’ll be here. Dumbledore said they were on the way."

"Would someone please tell us what’s going on?" Molly said in frustration. Bill and Charlie stood behind her, staring anxiously at the newcomers.

"Yeah, OK. We need to sit down," Harry said with a sigh once he saw Ron relax a bit. "Come on." He led them into the living room and began telling them what had happened.

There was a long silence when he’d finished, punctuated only by Ginny’s and Hermione’s soft crying. Molly was too much in shock to respond for a long time. Finally, she spoke. "And . . . and Percy. . ."

"Was as brave as anyone I’ve seen," Harry told her sincerely. "He fought so hard to resist Voldemort and protect everyone." His voice broke and he dropped his face into his hands, unable to look all of those grieving redheads in the eye any longer.

"Where the devil are Fred and George?" Arthur worried as he tried to comfort his wife. "They should be here by now."

"So should Tonks," Remus said darkly. "Albus said they were together. I can’t stand this." He got to his feet, but Harry rushed to stand between him and the door.

"Dumbledore said to stay here. They’re on the way," he said adamantly.

"They should be here now!" Molly sobbed. "It’s bad enough about P-P-Percy — we can’t lose the twins too!" She simply couldn’t bring herself to say more about what had happened to her third son. She wrung her hands in despair, then began tearing at her hair, frantic that she couldn’t help her children.

"Nobody said we’re losing the twins," Arthur said, trying to calm her. He held his wife closely while exchanging worried looks with Bill and Charlie.

The door opened and Tonks came in, looking tired, worn and dishevelled, her robes torn and a bit bloody.

Remus raced to her and wrapped her in his arms, holding her close and burying his face in her neck. "There you are! I was so worried!" When he heard her groan, he stood back from her and looked her over carefully, the state of her clothes finally registering in his mind. "What happened? Where are you hurt? Come and sit down. Do you need to go to St. Mungo’s?"

"I’m fine, Remus, really," Tonks said wearily. "Harry, love, I could do with some of your healing touch." She opened her robes, pulled up her shirt and showed serious spell burns on her rib cage. Her arms were burned as well.

"Of course!" Harry said, already starting to work on her. "What happened?"

"Where are the twins?" Molly cried.

Tonks sighed and relaxed as Harry magic began to ease her pain. "Those hands should be reproduced and sold on the open market. You’d have more money than Gringotts. That’s wonderful, Harry."

She opened her eyes and looked at Arthur and Molly. "I went to bring the twins in. I’d just had orders to look for the Grangers when Dumbledore told me to come to headquarters right away. I told him I was in Diagon Alley and he told me to go and make certain the twins actually came here with no mucking about on the way. So I went to their shop. They were shutting things down before leaving. I helped them close up the shop and we were about to Apparate when we were attacked."

"How are my boys?" Molly asked, wringing her hands anxiously. "They’re not hurt, are they?"

"George is in St. Mungo’s with some serious spell damage," Tonks replied sadly. "Fred won’t leave him. That’s why they aren’t here. Fred’s guarding him, and I got a couple of Aurors to stand guard, as well. I made certain that Healers Pomfrey and Bradford were the ones working on George."

"Is he . . . will he . . .?" Molly couldn’t bring herself to finish her question.

Tonks leaned forward and clasped the other woman’s hands comfortingly. "It’s bad, Molly, I won’t lie to you. But he’s getting the best care possible."

"I’m going to St. Mungo’s," Molly said, standing up determinedly.

"If you try to leave here, I’ll have to hex you," Tonks said seriously, her wand instantly in her hand, "and I’m too tired to fight. Please, Molly, stay here with the rest of your family."

"The . . . rest . . . of my family," Molly said, looking at the wide-eyed, heartbroken faces around her one by one.

"They need you, Molly," Remus said. "Don’t risk yourself by going there."

"My son needs me!" Molly cried vehemently.

"So do these sons and your daughter!" Remus insisted.

"Molly," Arthur said, his heart breaking. "Please. We’re all hurting. Let’s stay together. Fred will send word as soon as he knows something, I’m sure of it."

"Yes, he promised he would," Tonks said, relaxing under Harry’s healing hands again. "Please calm yourself, Molly. I’m so very sorry." As her head fell back against the sofa cushions, her eyelashes sparkled with tears. She sighed heavily, forcibly controlling herself. "I did the best I could to protect them. They both fought so well, but we were badly outnumbered at first. Other Aurors and Order members came to help. They captured or killed most of those who attacked us, but some of them got away. It turned into a major battle before it was over. George wasn’t the only casualty."

"Who else?" Harry asked quietly.

"Ben Whittier — the Auror from your meeting today. After we delivered the Cabinet members to the Ministry, he and I had a pint at the Leaky Cauldron. I never had a chance to tell you boys how brilliant you were working out that way to stop the Dementors."

"Huh?" Bill said. "What’s she talking about?"

"We have a lot to tell you," Ron said. "Later."

"Did Whittier die?" Harry asked sadly.

"No, thank goodness. He’s badly injured though. He’s in St. Mungo’s too, along with a couple of others who aren’t as seriously injured as he is. That’s why there were so many Aurors available to protect George. When one of our own goes down, we all gather round to do what we can to help. George is as safe as he can be with so many Aurors and Order members around him."

As all Tonks had said sunk in, Ginny moved from Harry’s side to stand behind her mother with her arms around Molly’s waist, her head leaning on Molly’s back, trying to comfort her and draw comfort from her at the same time. Ron, Bill and Charlie looked at each other in shock. They’d gone from six brothers to five, perhaps four, in the space of a couple of hours. Hermione stayed in Ron’s arms, trying to comfort him, but scared to death for her own parents, as well.

Arthur held Molly closely, looking at his children one after the other, loving each of them the same, loving each of them differently, loving each of them more than life itself. Three sons missing from the family circle. One son as good as dead. One son seriously injured. The third son would probably shatter if he lost his twin. The twins were so close, they seemed to share a brain. How would Fred survive without George? How would any of them go on without those two lively, bright spirits spreading joy and mayhem wherever they went? Arthur smiled through his tears. Nothing ever kept the twins down for long. He’d never known funnier, more cheerful people. What were they going to do if George . . .? He couldn’t bear to think about it. He sighed heavily and rested his cheek on Molly’s bright hair, lifting one hand from his wife’s back to cup his daughter’s head in the palm of his hand. Such a rowdy, happy, tumultuous, loving family he had. And now it was damaged. How could he have been angry with Percy for so long? How could he have not seen the Imperius Curse on his son? He sighed again, shaking his head. How was he going to get past this horrible evening?

Harry worked on Tonks for a long time, getting her to turn over so he could take care of the injuries on her back as well. When he came back to her front side and sensed inside her looking for any internal damage he might have missed, he hesitated, then concentrated on what he’d found. He wasn’t certain at first . . . then he was. He glanced at her and saw she was looking at him oddly.

"Did you find something serious?" she asked in concern.

"You’re fine," he said, sitting back and pulling her shirt back down. "You might want to see a healer to be certain, but I think you’ll do."

"Thanks, ducks," she said with a sad smile. She cupped his cheek with her hand, her thumb stroking the smooth surface tenderly. "You’re the best godson ever. I think I’ll keep you."

Harry smiled a bit, then moved away from her so Remus could sit with her. He found an empty chair and dropped into it like a stone. He sighed, then sat with his face in his hands, thinking about the happy spirit that was George Weasley. George and Fred were bright spots in Harry’s life, good friends, like brothers to him. They were Ginny’s favourite brothers. Truth be told, they were probably everyone’s favourite Weasleys. He groaned a bit, rubbing his scar surreptitiously as it prickled again. No visions this time, thank goodness, but Voldemort was up to something evil, he knew that much. Harry went back to his dark thoughts. How could Fred go on without his twin? The world would be a much darker place with one of them gone. If George died . . . if George died the heart would go out of Fred, Harry was sure of it. And a bright light would go out of the lives of everyone who knew him.

Some time later, Hermione cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. "Did you . . . did you hear anything about my parents, Tonks?" she asked hopefully.

"No, love, I didn’t. I’m sorry. That’s where I was going when Dumbledore caught me and told me to come here — and then he told me to check on the twins first. The rest you know." The room quieted again, with only quiet sobs and sniffles to break the stillness.

Dobby and Winky had watched the entire scene from a spot by the wall. They had planned to offer refreshments to their master’s guests, but when they sensed all the heartache in the room, they didn’t know what to do. Dobby pulled on his ears anxiously while Winky wrung her hands.

Harry rubbed his face roughly with his hands and settled his glasses back on his nose properly as he looked up. He saw the uneasy house-elves hovering nervously by the wall. "Hi, Dobby, Winky. How are you?" he said kindly.

"Dobby is most distressed by all this," he said, gesturing to the grieving people scattered around the room. "What can Dobby and Winky do to help?"

Harry took a deep breath and sat up a bit straighter.  "I’m sure we’d all like some tea, Dobby. Maybe something to eat, too."

"I don’t think I’ll ever be hungry again," Ginny said, her voice hollow.

"It won’t hurt to have some food ready in case anyone gets hungry," Harry said, moving behind her and rubbing her back tenderly. She turned to him and held on tightly.

"Dobby will make tea and sandwiches and find some butterbeer as well," the elf said as he and Winky left the room.

"How long has it been?" Molly said suddenly. "We should have heard something by now! Albus should have —"

The doorbell rang and Dobby popped to the foyer to answer the door. He opened it and bowed to Dumbledore when he entered. "Hello, Dobby," he said kindly. He looked up at the room full of grieving people. "I’m so sorry I’m late," he murmured, looking thoroughly done in.

Everyone started asking him questions at once. Harry was the only one who remained silent, watching his mentor carefully. He could tell Dumbledore had some very bad news to share, and he suspected he knew what the news was — but who had died? Harry braced himself for whatever was coming.

"Please, please! Calm yourselves," Dumbledore pleaded. "I know you’re going through a terrible time, but I’ll answer all your questions as soon as I can."

"Come sit down, Professor," Harry offered kindly. "You look tired."

"I am," Dumbledore said, sitting heavily in the armchair Harry had offered. He looked around at all the anxious faces. "Fred is fine. George is holding on. The healers are hopeful he’ll make a full recovery, but he’s not out of the woods yet."

"Did you see him?" Molly asked nervously.

"Yes, I just came from there, actually," he said, stretching his legs out on the ottoman Harry had solicitously pushed near his feet.

"What’s wrong with him?" Arthur said.

"Spell burns, some broken bones, some internal damage, a lot of blood loss," Dumbledore said quietly. "They’re healing him as quickly as they can."

"Who attacked them?" Bill asked.

"A band of Death Eaters who had been sent to capture or kill your brothers," Dumbledore replied. "Please, I have a great deal to tell you. Give me a moment to gather my thoughts and I’ll explain everything."

"Professor—" Hermione began fearfully.

"I will tell all of you everything I know. Please give me a moment," he said patiently. "Harry, could I have some tea?"

"Yes, Professor. Dobby’s bringing some now," Harry replied.

"Thank you," Dumbledore said. He pushed up his half-moon spectacles and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "All right. Everyone get some tea, sit down and drink it. And then I’ll tell you everything."

"Every single thing," Molly insisted.

"Every single thing," Dumbledore promised.

An uneasy peace reigned as they all forced some tea and at least part of a scone or sandwich down their throats while they waited impatiently for Dumbledore to speak. Finally, the elderly wizard seemed to be recovered enough to tell them what was going on in the outside world.

"Thank you for giving me a little time to rest. It’s been a very trying day, and this evening has just . . . well, you don’t want to hear that. All right. Fred is fine, Molly. He had a few spell burns and those have been healed already. He is perfectly well. George, as I told you, has more injuries, but he’s young and strong and a fighter. The healers were optimistic about his chances. Percy . . . we haven’t found Percy yet. Harry, did you tell them . . .?"

"I told them everything I knew," Harry replied.

"Then you know everything I do. I have people out looking for him, as does the Ministry. As soon as he’s found, he’ll be taken to St. Mungo’s for treatment."

"Harry said Percy was very b-b-brave," Molly said, her voice breaking.

"Yes, I believe he was," Dumbledore said as comfortingly as he could. "I am sorry we didn’t recognize that he was under the Imperius Curse. We might have . . . well, there’s no point in worrying about that now, is there? I’m so sorry."

Arthur and Molly nodded. What else could they do? Nobody could change what had happened to their boy. It was just a relief to know he had been brave to the end, and that he hadn’t been attracted to the Dark side but had been forced to it. They drew what comfort they could from that knowledge.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore said gravely, turning to Hermione. "I’m afraid I have rather bad news for you."

Ron tightened his grip on her shoulders. "What is it?" he said gruffly, hoping his strength would help her.

Dumbledore glanced up at Ron and smiled wanly at him. He was glad Hermione had someone to help her through what she was about to face. He gazed at Hermione with heartfelt sympathy in his eyes. "Your parents were on a train," he said gently. "The Death Eaters caused a derailment, resulting in a terrible crash. Hundreds of Muggles were killed. I’m afraid your parents are among them."

"You’re . . . you’re afraid they are? Are you sure or not?" Hermione said, grasping at any hope she could find.

"I’m sure. I am so very sorry," he said sadly.

"My . . . my parents . . . are . . . d-dead?" she said in a small voice. "Both of them?" Ron moaned and wrapped her up in his arms. She shivered, unable to cry for the moment.

Harry had moved behind her when his mentor had begun speaking to her. Now he stood rubbing her back gently, tears streaming down his face. His best friend was an orphan too. His heart ached for her. "I’m so sorry, Hermione."

Hermione whirled out of Ron’s arms and faced her headmaster, her face furious. "How can this be? Harry gave you plenty of warning! How could this happen?"

"They’re Muggles, Miss Granger. We don’t have the quick ways of communicating with them the way we do with wizards," Dumbledore explained, his hands spread wide in a helpless gesture.

"DID YOU EVER HEAR OF A TELEPHONE?" she shrieked.

"I called them on the phone as soon as I got word to look for them," Tonks said miserably. "They’d already left the office. I tried to reach them on their mobiles, but they were already on the train, and there are tunnels between their office and their home. They must have been in the tunnels when I called. I even tried sending them Adferos, but they may not have been able to leave the train once they got the message — and that’s if they understood it and believed it at all."

"Other Aurors went to the stations between their office and their house to try to reach them, but they got there too late," Dumbledore added sadly. "I’m so sorry. We did our best. Sometimes it just isn’t enough."

Hermione gasped, gulping back a sob, then ran out of the room and up the stairs. They heard her slam the door to her room. Ron glanced around the room then slowly, heavily, trudged after her.

"I have more news for you Weasleys, I’m afraid," Dumbledore said as Ron started up the stairs. Ron paused partway up the stairs to listen.

"What else could there be?" Molly said hysterically.

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "The Burrow has been levelled."

"What?" Molly cried. "It’s not enough for that monster to . . . to . . . but . . . our home? How could they get past our wards? No, it’s impossible. It can’t be true."

"Alas — it is true," Dumbledore said sadly. "Even the best wards can be breached with the proper information and enough power. Voldemort himself did it."

"Information?" Molly breathed uncertainly. Her shoulders drooped suddenly. "Percy."

Silence reigned for several long moments. "What will we do?" Molly said tearfully.

"The house can be rebuilt, Molly," Arthur said in as calm a voice as possible. "We’ll manage."

"I can’t take any more, I just can’t!" Molly cried. "Please tell me there’s no more bad news, Albus!"

"There’s no more bad news, Molly. That’s everything," Dumbledore said. He looked exhausted both physically and emotionally.

"You’re welcome to stay here while your house is being rebuilt," Harry offered. "There’s plenty of room."

"Thank you, Harry," Arthur replied as he comforted his wife. "You’re very kind. We may take you up on that."

Harry nodded, then glanced at the stairs, where Ron still stood motionless. He watched his best mate sigh, then trudge upstairs as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Harry heard Hermione’s door open and close again as Ron went in to comfort his girlfriend in her awful loss.

Harry couldn’t remember a worse feeling. He’d known what was happening. He’d warned everyone as well as possible, yet the Grangers were dead. George was in bad shape. Percy was . . . Percy was . . . Harry didn’t want to think about Percy.

Ginny was unable to decide if Harry or her mother could comfort her more, or if she needed to console Harry, or if her mother needed her the most. It was all so confusing. So she went back and forth, holding her mother for a while, then sinking into Harry’s arms gratefully again, soaking up whatever consolation he could give her and trying to give him some in return.

When Ginny moved back to her mother’s arms, Harry sat next to Dumbledore, turning heartbroken eyes to his beloved mentor. "Did I cause this by what I did at the meeting today?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Madam Bones would have cleared out the people she didn’t want eventually. You just helped her get started."

"Is Madam Bones safe? Or has he sent people after her as well?" Harry asked, suddenly worried about the minister.

"She’s safe. I warned her as soon as I’d sent people to find the Weasleys and Grangers. She’s staying inside the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, in a room that’s as protected as Hogwarts is. They keep witnesses there who might be in danger if they weren’t in protective custody."

"She’s put herself in protective custody?"

"It’s the safest place for her other than Hogwarts or here," Dumbledore said, "and I’m not willing to expose headquarters even to Madam Bones. I trust her, but still . . . it’s best to be careful about who we tell about this place."

"I understand," Harry said, wishing he truly did understand all that was going on.

Dobby and Winky served tea again, carrying trays overloaded with a wide variety of food, trying to tempt everyone’s stomachs. Very little of what they were passing around was taken. They finally set the trays on a table by the wall and stood silently waiting to be needed.

"We should check on Hermione," Harry said, standing and holding his hand out to Ginny, who’d gone back to sitting with him.

"Do you think so?" she said uncertainly, glancing at her grieving mother.

"I’ll go. You stay with your mum," Harry said, understanding her reluctance. "She needs you."

"Oh, poor Hermione," Molly said suddenly. "I didn’t even think . . . ."

"No one expects you to think about anything for a while, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said kindly. "You just rest. I’ll go and see how she’s doing."

Harry walked slowly up the stairs, making a decent amount of noise in case Ron was comforting Hermione in an, erm, intimate way. Harry thought about that for a moment. What could possibly be more comforting than being loved by the one who loves you, being reminded that you’re alive, that life goes on? He knew it wouldn’t ease her heartache for long, but if it gave her even a moment’s peace. . . . He hoped Ron had thought of it.

When he reached the girls’ bedroom door, he stopped and sighed heavily before knocking. He didn’t really want to interrupt them, but he did want to see how she was. What was the right thing to do? Then he heard Ron talking and relaxed. He knocked and waited for his best mate’s rumbling, "Yes?" before slowly opening the door.

"It’s me," Harry said as he poked his head around the door. "May I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," Ron said quietly. He and Hermione were sitting on her bed, Hermione’s head in his lap, her face blotchy and tear-stained. Ron was stroking her curls and rubbing her shoulder in an effort to comfort her. She sniffled from time to time but didn’t seem to notice Harry was there.

"How is she?" Harry asked as he sat in a chair near the bed.

"How do you think she is?" Ron said bitterly.

"I’m sorry, mate, I didn’t mean—"

"I know you didn’t. It isn’t your fault. I’m sorry," Ron said, disgusted with himself. "I feel as if I’ve been trampled by a herd of hippogriffs. I’m sore everywhere. I can’t . . . I don’t . . . ." He stopped and swallowed hard.

"I know," Harry murmured.

"No, you don’t!" Ron hissed. "You’ve never lost a brother, and I might lose two!" His voice broke and he sniffed hard, trying to staunch the flow of tears that trembled in his lashes. "And the Burrow. . . ." He shook his head, unable to believe all that had happened in such a short time.

"You and your brothers are as close to brothers as I’ve ever had, Ron," Harry said simply. "I love your family. I wish I could do something—"

"Well, you can’t!" Ron snapped, but then was immediately repentant. "Oh, I’m sorry, Harry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. You did what you could. If you hadn’t warned us, there might be more of us dead." He lifted disconsolate eyes to Harry’s and just gazed at his best friend. "I don’t think any of us thanked you for the warning. I’m sorry for that. Thank you."

"Don’t worry about it," Harry said dismissively. "If—"

"Harry? Don’t. You told us what happened as soon as you could. I know that. I was there, remember? Don’t blame yourself, mate."

Harry swallowed hard. Ron’s words were a balm on his soul. Harry had been racking his brain trying to think how he could help, how he could have warned them faster, what else could have been done, but he kept coming up with no answers. Ron didn’t blame him. Ron appreciated what Harry had tried to do, and his warning. "Thanks," he said simply, not knowing what else to say.

The three of them sat like that for a long time, Hermione finally sleeping fitfully, Ron holding her in a loving embrace, Harry sitting staunchly by their sides. Finally, someone knocked softly on the door and Ginny came in. She walked past Harry and leaned over to look at Hermione’s sleeping face, then crawled into Harry’s lap and curled up there like a cat. As he gently stroked her hair and rubbed her back, she began to relax a bit under his calming touch.

"How are things downstairs?" Ron asked after a while.

"Quieter," Ginny said. "How’s she doing?"

"She’s been asleep for a while now," Ron said.

Ginny turned a bit so she could look up at Harry, still curled cat-like in his arms. "How are you?"

"I’ll do," he said. "And you?"

"I’ll do."

"Any news?" Harry asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"No."

* * * * *

Hours later, Mad-Eye Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived, looking tired and worn. When Harry heard the front door open, he got up and gently put the sleeping Ginny in her bed. He and Ron exchanged an understanding look, and then Harry tiptoed downstairs to find out what was going on.

"Any news?" Dumbledore asked when he saw the two Aurors. The Weasleys had all been so disconsolate, he’d been afraid to leave them for fear they’d try to go to the hospital and endanger themselves as well as the Aurors who were trying to protect George and Fred.

"George is doing a bit better," Mad-Eye said gruffly. "That’s a tough kid. He’s made of good stuff, he is. He took spells that would have killed a lesser man."

"Alastor," Dumbledore warned, but Molly seized on the first thing Moody had said.

"He’s better? Really? Are you sure?"

"Saw him myself," Mad-Eye said, "and not just with the shifty," he added, referring to his magical eye.

"He’s got some colour now, and he’s breathing better. The healers are pleased with his progress," Kingsley added.

"Thank heaven!" Molly said, and began a new bout of crying. "Oh, I’m giving myself such a headache!"

"We brought some potions we thought you might need," Kingsley said.  "Dreamless Sleep Potion, a Calming Draught, headache potions, the Draught of Peace. With everything you lot have been through, we thought you might need some of these."

"Thank you, Kingsley," Dumbledore said with heartfelt gratitude. "I’m sure they will be much appreciated."

"How’s the Granger girl?" Mad-Eye asked. "Where is she?"

"Upstairs with Harry, Ron and Ginny," Bill said. "Do you need to tell her something?"

"We got her parents’ bodies out of the wreckage. They died from the crash, not from any spells. They didn’t suffer.  I thought she’d want to know."

"I think she will appreciate knowing that, Alastor," Dumbledore said quietly. "Perhaps not just yet, but when she’s ready."

"They’ve been taken to a Muggle funeral home near the crash," Kingsley said. "She will need to claim the bodies so they can be buried. We identified them, but they require a signature from a family member to release them."

"Does she have any other family?" Molly asked suddenly. "I’ve never heard her say."

"No, she only had her parents," Dumbledore said sadly.

"Damn that cursed man anyway," Molly said vehemently. "First he kills my brothers, then he goes after my sons, and now Hermione has no family!" She sniffled hard, then growled, "She will have family. Our family. We’ll make sure she’s taken care of."

"That’s very kind of you, Molly," Dumbledore said, patting her hands gently. "I’m sure she will appreciate it."

Everyone was quiet for a while. Harry, who’d stopped on the stairs to listen, came the rest of the way downstairs silently, watching the scene in the living room. Mad-Eye and Kingsley helped themselves to food and tea. Tonks got up and wandered into the kitchen. Harry followed her.

"Can I help you find something?" Harry said when he found her poking through cabinets.

"I was looking to see if we had any firewhiskey or brandy here," she said. "Molly could use it. So could I, for that matter."

"Erm . . . Tonks, I need to talk to you," he said hesitantly.

"What’s up, luv?" she said, turning to look at him.

"Would you mind sitting down?" he invited, pulling out a chair for her.

"You did find something inside me," she said, her eyes wide and frightened. "I knew something was wrong. I could see it in your eyes. What is it? Do I have a tumour or something?"

"Yes, I found something, but it isn’t a tumour," he said, taking her hand in his. "I don’t know how to say this. Erm . . . I think . . . I think you’re pregnant."

"What? Don’t tease me that way, Harry!" she said with a nervous laugh. "I can’t be! I take my potion every January . . ." Her voice trailed off. "Oh no. We were on our honeymoon until school started again, and then I was busy putting the house together in Hogsmeade . . . ." She gasped. "I forgot! I forgot my potion!"

"So it’s likely you are pregnant, then?" Harry said. "I mean, I’ve never worked on a woman who was pregnant, so I wasn’t sure."

"What did you find? Tell me what made you think. . .?"

"I found a second heartbeat. I found a small, moving body inside yours. Little arms and legs flapping around a bit, I suppose," he said with a tender smile. "And its magic pushed back against mine."

"What? What do you mean, its magic pushed back?"

"When I look for internal injuries, I send my magic into the person’s body," he began.

"Yeah, I felt that," she said, frowning as she concentrated on what he was saying.

"I’ve never had my magic pushed against before. And I did find a little heartbeat, a very fast one. I wasn’t certain what it was at first, and then it moved a bit and I knew it wasn’t part of you — it wasn’t a tumour or something wrong with a blood vessel, for instance. It’s a baby." He smiled again, his eyes filled with wonder as he remembered sensing the small life within her.

"Oh, my," she gasped. She touched her abdomen. "A baby? Bloody hell, I was in a battle today! What if a spell injured it?"

"I think it’s fine, but you do need to see a real healer to find out for certain."

"What’s going on?" Remus said as he entered the kitchen. He started when he saw his wife’s pale, shocked face. "Tonks, are you all right?"

"I’m . . . I’m . . . ." she stammered. She took a deep breath and blew it out, then stood up and wrapped her arms around her husband. "Erm . . . remember that talk we had about starting a family?"

Remus looked confused as he slid his arms around her slim waist. "Yes. Why?"

"It’s started a bit earlier than we planned," she said, looking into his eyes hopefully.

"What? What do you mean?"

"When Harry examined me . . . he, um, found an extra heartbeat. He thinks I’m pregnant."

Remus looked from Tonks to Harry, then back at Tonks. "Harry only knows about injuries. He doesn’t know anything about pregnancies." He turned to his godson. "Do you?"

"Nope. But I know when something isn’t normal inside someone’s body. She has a small — let’s say ‘object’ — with its own heartbeat, moving on its own, and pushing magic back at me when I was sending magic through her to examine her. If that’s not a baby, what is it?" Harry reasoned.

Remus stood silently, looking stunned, as he processed all this information.

Tonks began to look frightened. "If you don’t want it," she began uneasily.

"Not want it? Your baby? Our baby? Are you daft?" Remus said, his face glowing as realization finally sank in. "We’re pregnant? How did it happen?"

Harry snorted. "If I have to give you the little Remus talk again," he teased.

Remus laughed and blushed as he said, "No, that part I understand."

"I was so busy getting the house fixed up after our honeymoon, I forgot my potion," Tonks admitted. "I’m hopeless at remembering things, you know that."

"A baby!" Remus said, grinning at her. He leaned down and kissed her seriously, then held her in a tight embrace. "On this horrible day, what an absolutely wonderful thing to hear. I love you, Tonks. I can’t wait to see our baby. We need to get you to a healer right away, to make sure everything’s OK!"

"Harry says the baby seems fine, no spell damage. All the spells hit me higher," Tonks assured him. "We can wait until this crisis is over to see a healer."

"How are you feeling?" Remus said, suddenly solicitous. "Sit down, you should rest."

Tonks giggled. "If you’re going to coddle me like this, I’ll get pregnant every year!"

"That would be fine with me," Remus said tenderly.

"What’s going on in here?" Molly said plaintively as she entered the kitchen. "I heard laughter."

"Tonks is pregnant!" Remus said, his face split in an ear-to-ear grin. "Here, Tonks, Molly knows everything about being pregnant. She can help you until you can see a healer."

"I’m fine, Remus!" Tonks insisted, laughing at his excitement.

"Pregnant? When did this happen?" Molly said, sitting at the table with Harry and Tonks, trying to be supportive despite her grief.

"Harry found the baby when he was examining me this evening," Tonks said with a fond smile at the young man.

"How lovely for you," Molly said, starting to smile, but then bursting into tears. "Oh, I’m so sorry."

"No, we’re sorry!" Tonks said, rising and putting her arms around the older woman. "Everyone’s going through so much right now . . . when Harry told me the news, it was such a shock, I laughed about it. Remus did too, once he believed us. We meant no disrespect."

"Oh, I know that," Molly said, waving off Tonks’s apology. "I’m just . . . I was pregnant six times, you know," she said wistfully. Everyone nodded. "There’s nothing like it. You can feel that precious child growing beneath your heart and you love it long before it’s born. You can tell a lot about its personality before it’s born. Fred and George were so rowdy — so was Ginny, for that matter. Ron was quiet, but had his moments. Charlie was very active. Bill was quieter. Percy gave me the worst indigestion," she said with a chuckle, then burst into tears. "Oh, my poor Percy!" she sobbed.

"I came in here looking for firewhiskey or brandy," Tonks said with determination, starting to get to her feet.

"Oh no, you don’t," Remus chided her, pushing her back into her chair. "No alcohol for you. You’re pregnant!"

"It isn’t for me, it’s for Molly!" Tonks retorted.

"I’ve had a Draught of Peace and two Cheering Charms," Molly said. "I shouldn’t have anything else for a while. But thank you." She sniffled and tried to pull herself together. "Have you been feeling quite well? Or have you been sick in the mornings?"

"I’ve been a bit queasy some mornings, yeah," Tonks said, sitting down and gazing into the older woman’s eyes. "I thought I was just tired. Bloody nuisance."

"Put some crispbread or cheese biscuits by your bed and when you wake up in the morning, eat several of them while you’re still lying down," Molly advised. "That should take care of it. That’s better than taking potions. You want to take as few potions as possible when you’re pregnant. There’s no telling which ones might affect the baby."

With the women becoming more deeply engrossed in baby talk, Harry rose from his seat and started to leave the kitchen, having done what he came here to do. Remus stood up and pulled him into a hug.

"How can I thank you?" Remus breathed. "If you hadn’t told her, she’d be back out there fighting again the first chance she got. Now she’ll have to be given a desk job until the baby comes. She’ll be so much safer. Thank you, Harry."

"I’m so happy for you, Remus!" Harry said, his eyes sparkling. "And how nice to hear some good news for a change."

"Yes," Remus agreed, turning eyes full of love on his bride. "Such good news!"

* * * * *

Some time later, Harry was sitting with Dumbledore, talking about all the things that had happened in such a short time. Ginny had come back downstairs and sat in a corner drawing something on a bit of parchment.

"I forgot Merlin," Harry said suddenly. "He’s still in your office."

"And we have no owls here at present," Dumbledore said. "I left Fawkes at Hogwarts so Professor McGonagall can reach me quickly if she needs to. You can send for Merlin and he’ll come. We could use him here to send messages."

"He’ll hear me call him from London to Scotland?" Harry said, surprised. "Are you sure?"

"Give it a try," Dumbledore said serenely.

"Merlin, I need you!" Harry cried, holding his wand up. In a moment, a flash of light burst over Harry’s head and Merlin settled down on his master’s shoulder.

"Thanks for coming, mate," Harry said sincerely. "Would you go to St. Mungo’s and see what you can do for George Weasley? And Ben Whittier, as well." Merlin blinked and spread his wings, preparing to take off.

"Wait!" Molly said suddenly. "Did I hear you say you’re sending Merlin to George?"

"Yes," Harry replied. "He might be able to help, or at least make him more comfortable."

"Oh, thank you, Harry! Can he carry a note to the twins as well?"

"Of course!" Harry replied.

"Give me just a moment," she said, looking for parchment and a quill.

"I’ve made George a get-well card," Ginny said, holding up the piece of parchment she’d been doodling on for quite some time. "Would everyone like to sign it?"

Soon the card was signed, a note was written and Merlin took off with instructions to bring back word as soon as there was any change.

"It’s quite late," Dumbledore said. "Why don’t you all go to bed? I’ll let you know when there’s news."

"Dobby has set up all the guest rooms with fresh linens," Harry added. "And I’ll come wake you all if Merlin returns during the night."

Reluctantly, slowly, everyone went up to bed except for Dumbledore, Mad-Eye and Kingsley, who were going to stay in the living room and guard the house as well as waiting for word from other Order members or the hospital.

* * * * *

"How is she?" Harry asked Ron when he and Ginny returned to the girls’ room.

"Still asleep. She took some of the Dreamless Sleep Potion, but she won’t let go of me," Ron said. He’d been sitting on her bed holding her in his arms for hours and he was stiff and sore, his legs numb from her weight in his lap.

"Need to use the loo, mate?" Harry said with a gently teasing smile.

"Oooh, don’t say that," Ron moaned.

"Hang on, let me help you up," Harry said, sitting on the bed and taking the sleeping girl in his arms.

Ron groaned as feeling rushed back into his legs, needle-like pains shooting through them as he began to move. "Thanks," he said gratefully. "She’s such a little thing, you wouldn’t think her weight could put my legs to sleep like that."

"Even a small weight can do that if you sit still long enough," Harry said philosophically as he tried to lay Hermione down. She clung to him desperately and he couldn’t think of a gentle way to get her to let go. He sighed and lay down with her in his arms. He gave Ginny an apologetic look as he did so.

"That’s OK, you have to do that for me next," Ginny said with a hint of a grin.

"You’re on," Harry said, his eyes twinkling briefly. Hermione sniffled and began to cry in her sleep, pulling herself more tightly into Harry’s arms. He tucked her head under his chin and held her closely, letting her cry herself out.

"I thought she had Dreamless Sleep Potion," Ginny said in confusion.

"Sometimes it doesn’t completely stop the dreams," Harry said, his voice of experience speaking.

Ron returned and took Harry’s place once Harry managed to loosen Hermione’s grip on him. "She’s been crying," Harry said as he got up from the bed.

"Yeah, that potion doesn’t seem to be helping much," Ron said sadly. "I don’t know what to do for her."

"I think you’re probably doing all that can be done," Harry said sadly. "Are you OK? You were gone for a while."

"Yeah. I went down to see how the family was," he said gruffly.

"Any change?" Harry asked as delicately as he could.

"No. Mum’s . . . I don’t know what to call it. She’s always been so strong, you know?" Harry nodded. "But she seems to be just barely holding on right now. She burst into tears when she saw me."

"I’m sorry, mate," Harry said, giving Ron’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Ron glanced up at him and nodded, his lips pressed tightly together. He lowered his eyes and rested his cheek on Hermione’s hair, a heavy sigh escaping him.

Harry sighed too, then crossed to Ginny and settled on the bed with her. He held her for a little while, then kissed her and started to get up. "I guess I’d better go to my room."

"Why?" Ginny said, her eyes miserable. "Don’t leave me, Harry."

"I don’t relish the idea of sleeping over there alone," Harry said, "but if . . . well, your mum will have kittens if we do anything and she catches us. She’s had enough stress for one day."

"Please, just hold me," Ginny said. "I can’t sleep anyway."

"Behave yourself," he warned her, but in a teasing way.

"If you insist," she said reluctantly. Harry reclined on her bed and she snuggled in next to him, holding him tightly. She cried for a while, then finally dozed off in exhaustion.

Some time later, the door of the room opened and someone tiptoed in with a dimly lit wand in hand. Harry was instantly awake and wary, but it was only Molly Weasley, come to check on her children.

"Why are you boys in here? I was worried when I found your room empty," Molly hissed when she saw Harry was awake.

"Hermione won’t let go of Ron even when she’s asleep, and Ginny’s pretty upset too. And I didn’t want to be over there by myself anyway," he replied. Ginny was sleeping soundly, little whistles coming from her nose. Ron’s soft snores were accompanied by Hermione’s sniffles and sighs. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to make sure everyone was all right," she said. "I know you’re all grown, but I can’t help it. I’ve checked on Bill and Charlie, as well," she admitted sadly.

"It’s OK, Mrs. Weasley," Harry assured her. "You should probably take some of the Dreamless Sleep Potion so you can get some rest."

"I want to be awake when Merlin brings news," she said anxiously.

"I’ll come and wake you, I promise," Harry replied.

"Oh. Well. Um. . .OK," she said tremulously. "I suppose that will be all right."

"Good night, Mrs. Weasley," Harry murmured, hoping she’d actually take the potion and let everyone sleep.

Molly seemed not to have heard him. She sat on the side of the bed, twining her fingers in Ginny’s thick silky hair, some of which was spread across Harry’s chest. "I don’t know what to do, how to feel. Percy’s . . . oh, poor Percy," she said, tearing up again. She dropped Ginny’s hair and covered her face with her hands for a few moments until she recovered her self-control. Harry patted her arm consolingly, not knowing what else to do.

"I’m sorry," she said when she quieted, cupping Harry’s cheek with her hand. "You’re such a dear boy, Harry. I do love you so. Don’t you feel bad about any of this. You saved my family today. Without your warning . . . thank you." She finger-combed his hair, then traced his eyebrow with her thumb before stroking the smooth expanse of his cheek again. "You look so different without your glasses," she mused. "Handsome either way, just different," she assured him. She sighed, then leaned down and kissed him on the forehead before standing again. "I don’t know how to go on, Harry. I just don’t."

He took her hand and squeezed her fingers sympathetically. "You’ll sort it out, Mrs. Weasley. You always know the right thing to do."

She chuckled sadly. "No. No, I don’t. But you’re sweet to say so." She took a deep breath and fought to control herself again. "Well. I should be going. I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Harry. Everyone else slept through my checking on them."

"I can be a light sleeper at times," he said with half a smile.

"I suppose so. I . . ." She seemed at a loss for words. She glanced across the room to where her youngest son was sleeping soundly, holding his girlfriend so protectively. All four of them still wore their school things, Harry and Ron with their ribbons still on their robes. The girls were both sleeping on the boys’ right shoulders to avoid the ribbons poking them in the face. Molly moved to a cupboard near the window and pulled out two blankets, spreading one over each couple. She tucked in Ron and Hermione, then did the same for Harry and Ginny.

"Thanks," Harry said.

"You get some rest. You’ve earned it."

"You need to rest too," Harry reminded her.

"I’ll do my best," she said as she moved to the door. "Don’t forget . . ."

"I’ll come and tell you as soon as Merlin brings me word, all right?"

"Thank you, dear," she murmured, then closed the door quietly behind her.

Ginny snickered. "Good thing we were behaving!"

"I thought you were asleep!" Harry said, kissing her on the nose.

"I woke up while you and Mum were talking."

"I’m sorry, baby, I tried to speak quietly."

"I love to hear your voice rumbling in your chest," Ginny said, smiling up at him for a moment. "It’s such a comfortable sound."

He chuckled. "Then I’ll talk all night to keep you comfortable," he vowed.

"You don’t have to. I like to listen to your heart beating, too, and to you breathing. I just love being in your arms, Harry," she said tenderly. "Thanks for staying with me."

"It’s not too painful for me, y’know," he quipped. He ran his fingers through the length of her hair and then cupped her cheek in the heart of his palm. "How are you doing?"

"I’ll be better when George is," she said in a small, sad voice.

"Me too. Go back to sleep," he said, kissing her softly. "I’ll let you know when Merlin brings news."

"’K," she murmured, already drifting off again.

* * * * *

Harry awoke sometime later when a flash of light burst over him. He opened his eyes to see Merlin perched on the headboard of the bed. Ginny woke up too, sitting up and rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Merlin’s here?" she said.

"Yeah," Harry replied, sitting up and facing the magnificent bird. "How’s George?"

Merlin crooned and chirped softly for quite a while, then finally fell silent and held out a leg with a note tied to it.

"Thanks, mate," Harry said with a heavy sigh. "I brought some food and water up for you. They’re by the window there," he said, nodding toward two bowls on the windowsill. Merlin ruffled Harry’s hair with his beak, then flew over to the window to get a drink.

"What did he say?" Ron asked from across the room. "He was talking for a long time."

"Is Hermione awake?" Harry said.

"No, she’s sound asleep," Ron replied, smoothing her riotous curls out of her face.

"I’d rather tell everyone at once, but since you can’t move," Harry said with a sigh.

Ginny looked terrified. "George is all right, isn’t he?"

"He’s better, love, don’t worry," Harry replied sadly. He looked at Ron. "Ben Whittier died."

"Oh, no," Ron breathed despondently. "He was such a nice bloke."

"Yeah," Harry said heavily. "And there was a battle in the hospital. Death Eaters came in to try to get to Fred and George and the injured Aurors, but they were all killed or captured, and none of the patients were hurt — well, except for Whittier. He got up and tried to fight in spite of his injuries. He died fighting." He sighed, then lifted his hand showing Ron the parchment he held. "Fred’s sent a note."

"What’s it say?" Ron asked.

"I should probably tell your mum first," Harry said, getting off the bed. "I promised her, y’know."

"Yeah. Tell me later, OK?"

"Right," Harry replied. He held his hand out to his girlfriend. "D’you want to come with me?"

"Yes," she said, trying to smooth down her frowsy hair.

Moments later, Harry was knocking on Arthur and Molly’s door, while Ginny knocked on Bill and Charlie’s, then Remus and Tonks’s. Soon the two young men were seated in their parents’ room, with Harry and Ginny standing between them. Remus and Tonks stood against the wall. Harry told everyone what Merlin had said, then handed Molly Fred’s note.

Molly’s hands were shaking terribly. "I . . . I can’t," she said finally, pushing the note back to Harry. "Would you mind reading it for us, dear?"

"Erm . . . OK," he said reluctantly. Ginny pulled a chair over for him and he sat down, with Ginny curled up at his feet, leaning against his legs. "Um, OK, here goes." He opened the letter uneasily. He was the message bearer, not the message reader! He was quite uncomfortable to be in the middle of all this, yet here he was, and he had to make the best of it. He cleared his throat and began.

Dear Mum, Dad and everyone else. George is doing a bit better — I know that’s the first thing you want to hear. He’s still unconscious as I write this. The healers will be glad when he wakes up. They say that will be a good sign.

I’m having trouble writing this. I’m so used to George doing half my thinking for me, finishing my sentences or starting ones I will finish — doing this by myself is harder than I would ever have imagined.

I hope Tonks is OK. She was brilliant! What a fighter! I know she was injured, but she wouldn’t stay at St. Mungo’s to be examined. She was determined to get to you lot to tell you how George and I were, bless her. Please give her our best and thank her again for all she did for us.

I suppose you want to know why it took so long for us to get away from the shop. We were working on some new weapons for the Ministry and had cauldrons and pots full of volatile potions all over the work room. We had to cap all of those to prevent explosions. If even some of them had been left uncapped, half of Diagon Alley might have blown up. I suppose we should move the research functions to some place where there are fewer people to get hurt if something goes wrong, but we were making such good progress, we never thought about moving our research up there. I suppose we will once George is well enough to work again. We’d just capped the last potion when Tonks joined us and helped us close up the shop.

Merlin is so brilliant. Please thank Harry for sending him to us. Merlin worked on George for quite a while. He dripped tears into open wounds that were still healing and closed them up right away. Then he sat next to George’s belly and sang the most beautiful music. George relaxed while Merlin was singing, you could see it. I relaxed as well, actually. The healers said that Merlin had done something to help George’s internal injuries. He should heal faster now. I certainly hope so. This has gone on long enough!

Merlin just left us, flying out of the door and down the hall, not ‘flashing,’ as Harry calls it.  I suppose he’s gone to check on someone else. Harry must have given him a list of people to see or something.

I’ve been working on this letter ever since I read yours, but it’s hard for me, so hard.

Harry stopped reading and swallowed. The words in front of him were blurred with tears. Fred had been crying while writing. Harry couldn’t imagine either of the twins ever shedding a tear. Seeing those smears on the words was shocking, heart-wrenching.

"What is it?" Molly asked anxiously through her tears. "What’s wrong? Why did you stop?"

"I . . . uh . . .just needed to," Harry cleared his throat unnecessarily, "clear my throat. Sorry." He went back to reading.

I noticed on Ginny’s card (Thanks for that, baby sister — it’s very cute, although I had to stop it singing after a while. I couldn’t think to be able to write with it singing such a silly song. Nice charm, though!) that everyone’s together except for Percy. Is he safe in the Ministry? What happened? Why did they come after all of us at once? Or did they? Tonks didn’t have time to explain, and no one else seems to know. Percy’s a prat, but I hope he’s OK.

Tell Harry — I’m certain the warning must have come from him — tell him George and I said ‘Thanks.’ He and whoever passed along the warning saved our lives. We would have been in the shop surrounded by live explosives if they’d come in to attack us there. I doubt we could have survived a fire fight in the shop. I shudder to think of it, actually.

Tell Ron that it’s a good thing George and I are in the Flying Squad. We’re fairly useless as fighters on the ground. We just don’t think on our feet as well as Harry does — but then again, who does? Ha-ha. I just know that I’d much rather be on my broom dropping bombs than doing hand-to-hand combat with experienced fighters the way we were today. Tonks, though — she’s fantastic! I was amazed. I didn’t pay much attention to any individual fighter in the Battle of Little Hangleton, except for Harry, of course, and an occasional glance at you, Mum and Dad and Ginny, to be sure you were OK. I was too busy dropping bombs. George and I learned a lot in D.A., and we’re certainly glad we did! But this kind of fighting just isn’t where our skills lie. Give us a broom and a bag of bombs and we can handle any fight.

I suppose I should tell you what happened. Writing is keeping me from staring at George and brooding too much anyway. When we were attacked, we’d just locked up and stepped away from the door. When the first spells came at us, George and I stood back-to-back, trying to protect each other. We didn’t plan it, it just felt right to us. Tonks stood next to us, a few feet away, and fired spells so fast, her wand was a blur. We finally worked out a system so we were facing three directions, which was good because we were surrounded. I have no idea how many people attacked us — fifteen, twenty, maybe? Maybe more. Maybe less. I just don’t know — it was all so confusing, and now it’s all muddled in my mind. Anyway, when some of the ones we weren’t aiming at started falling, we realized there were people behind the Death Eaters shooting at them! George had already been badly hit, but he was still upright for a while. When he fell,

Harry stopped there and rubbed his eyes. He could feel Fred’s heartache in his words, see the pain he was suffering in the many tear-stains on the parchment. Harry took a deep breath and made himself go on.

When he fell, I stood over him and Tonks stayed at my back. She was hit hard a couple of times and fell, but kept getting back up and fighting again. What a warrior she is! Finally, the Death Eaters still standing broke and ran. Some of the people who had come to help us chased them. I saw a few Order members there, and I suppose the others were Aurors. Tonks seemed to know some of them. A couple of people came and bandaged our worst wounds, then someone made a Portkey and the three of us went to St. Mungo’s. Tonks stayed with us until she got Harry’s favourite healer to look after George and me. She wouldn’t let anyone else near us. Healer Pomfrey called Healer Bradford in to help him with George’s injuries. Bradford said George had been hit with some Dark spells, but nothing as awful as the one that Hermione suffered. I was glad to hear that, since I remember what a hard time Hermione had after that fight on the Astronomy Tower last year. I wasn’t badly hurt, but they took care of me, as well, don’t worry. I’m doing fine. I’m just so damned lonely. I wish George would wake up!

Tonks wouldn’t let anyone look at her until she was certain George was stable. Then she found some Auror friends to guard our door and finally left. We owe her so much. She has a lifetime supply of anything she wants from our shop — please be sure to tell her that.

Mum, I know all of this is very hard on you. I know you want to be here with us, but where you are, you’re safe. Please stay there and don’t try to come to us. Dad, same for you. We don’t want any of the rest of you endangered. As soon as George is able, we’ll join you.  I’ll stay with him until he’s strong enough to leave here.

I don’t have a way to send messages. I don’t even know if Merlin’s going to come back so he can take this letter to you. In case he does, though, and this letter actually reaches you, could someone let our employees know that we’re going to keep the shop closed for a while? I suppose we need to wait for things to settle down a bit before re-opening.

If you have the chance to write back to me, could someone please tell me what the bloody hell happened? Why were we all suddenly targeted? And where’s that prat, Percy? I hope he’s all right. I would much prefer to hex him myself for being such a git to someone else hurting him."

Harry stopped again. Molly’s sobbing and Ginny’s soft crying were more than he could bear. He pulled Ginny into his arms and did what he could to soothe her.

When they’d quieted, Molly said, "Is there more?"

"A bit," Harry said reluctantly.

"Please, go on. I’m sorry we interrupted you," Molly said, her eyes still streaming, but her sobs under more control than they had been.

"OK," Harry said, steeling himself to finish the letter.

I can’t tell you how happy I was to get your letter. It’s so lonely here, with George too quiet and motionless, just the occasional healer popping in to check on him. I don’t know how to be still for long periods, you know that, but there’s nothing else I can do. I can’t help George, although I did give blood for him. He’s pinked up a bit since they gave him my blood and the Blood-Restoring Potion. I feel so helpless.

Harry stopped again.

"What’s wrong?" Molly asked anxiously.

"He, um, he scratched some stuff out here," Harry said. "It’s a bit hard to read. His quill needs sharpening." The real problem was that Fred’s tears had nearly washed the words away, and reading that bright, cheerful, funny, resourceful Fred was at a complete loss for what to do was horribly disturbing to Harry. He took a deep breath and dutifully went on.

"I’m scared. I’m so scared. I can’t lose George." Fred had scratched that out, but not very well. Harry skipped that part and went on with his reading.

I hope none of the rest of you are injured. Please take care of yourselves and write back when you can. Your letter was a real boost to my spirits. I was so worried, not knowing how you were, if you were safe, if you were hurt, where you were.

Oh, Merlin’s just returned, so I’ll end this now and let him take it to you. Thank you, Harry, for sending him. And thanks to the rest of you for writing. My best and my love to all of you — and from George as well. I know he’d say that if he was awake, so I’ll just say it for him. Take care of yourselves. I love you. Be safe. Oh, I’m rambling. I wish we were together. STAY THERE, MUM!! I’ll be fine. So will George. OK, I really am going to sign off now so Merlin can take this to you. Write back when you can.

Fred. And George — the quiet twin. Ha-ha

Harry let his hands holding the letter fall to his lap and stared at the floor, unable to look at the grieving family around him.

Finally, Bill said, "He sounded pretty good overall."

"Yeah!" Charlie said encouragingly. "And he said George is pinking up. That’s good!"

"He liked my card," Ginny said with a watery smile.

"Of course he did, dear," Molly said, reaching out to stroke her daughter’s hair. She blew her nose and wiped away her tears, then said, "Right! We need to write him a cheerful letter, fill him in on what’s going on, and get it off right away! Where’s some parchment?"

Soon the family was busy, all of them writing individual letters to the twins. Harry took Fred’s note to the girls’ room and showed it to Ron.

"Merlin?" Harry said quietly while Ron was reading Fred’s letter. "Would you try to find Percy Weasley for me? The Aurors haven’t been able to find him yet, and Fawkes has to stay at Hogwarts to help Professor McGonagall. I’ll give you a note to give to the healers at St. Mungo’s. If you find Percy, flash him there right away, OK? And make sure the healers see my note. Then wait to see how he is, if you can, and come back to me. OK?"

The beautiful bird chirped one liquid note and sat watching as Harry scribbled quickly on a bit of parchment and tied it to his leg.

As he flashed out of sight, Ron said, "I wanted to write a letter to Fred too. Why did you send the family’s letters without mine?"

"I haven’t sent them yet. I had an errand for him to do," Harry said dismissively. "If you want, I can hold Hermione so you can write your letter. You can take a break, go to the loo or get something to eat. I don’t mind looking after her for a while."

"Yeah, thanks, mate," Ron said. "She’s sleeping quite deeply, but she won’t let me move at all."

Harry lifted her arms and put them around his own neck with a bit of difficulty. She was quite determined to not let go of Ron. Once she was settled in his arms, he lay down with her and tried to rest a bit while Ron wrote his letter and went to visit his family. Harry hoped he could keep the Weasleys occupied long enough for Merlin to succeed in his errand and bring them some good news.

* * * * *

"There!" Molly said with satisfaction some time later. "All ready?"

"Yes," Ginny said, rolling the letters into a tight package to make it easier for Merlin to carry.

"Um," Charlie said hesitantly, "did anyone tell Fred about Percy?"

"Do we really want to?" Ginny said nervously.

"He did ask," Charlie said.

"Where’s Harry? We need Merlin," Molly said.

"He went to let Ron read Fred’s letter," Ginny said. "I’ll go see how they’re doing."

"Ron may want to send a letter as well," Molly told her. "Be sure to ask him if he wants to."

Just then, Ron entered the room, Fred’s letter and his own response in his hand. "Hi. I brought a letter to send with yours. How are you doing?" he said, sitting down next to his mum.

"I’m . . . I’m fine," she said, deciding to use Harry’s favourite response to that question. "How’s Hermione?"

"Sleeping like a rock," Ron said. "But she wants to be held all the time. Harry and I finally got me free of her arms, and then she latched onto him. He’ll look after her until I get back."

"He’s such a good boy," Molly said with a small smile. "You have a letter to add to our packet?" she said, noticing the parchment in Ron’s hand. He nodded. "We’ve all finished ours. Where’s Merlin?"

"Harry sent him on an errand. He said he’d be back soon," Ron replied.

"An errand? I wonder what . . .?" Molly began, then shook her head. "Well, no matter. We’re lucky to have any way to get messages out. If we’d known . . . well, we could have brought Errol." She stopped talking, then turned to Arthur in horror. "Oh no. Errol was in the house. So was the cat! Or maybe she was in the barn. I hope she was."

"We can’t worry about them now, Molly," Arthur murmured, holding her closely as she began to cry again.

"I’m going to check on Harry," Ginny said, then left the room. A few minutes later, she entered her and Hermione’s room.

"How’s your family doing?" Harry asked quietly.

"I think we’re all beginning to accept things a bit. There are fewer tears now, anyway, except that Mum just realized Errol and the cat may have . . . erm." She stopped and blew out a sharp breath, forcing her body to obey her and not fall apart. "They may have died when the Burrow was destroyed. But for the rest . . . I think Fred’s letter helped a lot."

"That’s good. I’m sorry about Errol and the cat, but they may have escaped. Owls and cats are good at getting out of dangerous situations."

"Yeah. Well . . . Ron said you sent Merlin on an errand. Do you have any idea when he’ll be back? We have our letters ready to go," Ginny said.

"I don’t know when he’ll be back. It shouldn’t take too long," he said hopefully. "It’s really late and you look exhausted. Why don’t you lie down?"

"Great! Budge over," she said, climbing on Hermione’s bed on Harry’s other side. Ginny smiled at him a bit and snuggled her cheek into his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. He’d removed his robes and tie and now lay in his white shirt and black trousers, not nearly as comfortable as he’d like to be, but far more comfortable than he’d been in his robes. And now there were no ribbons on his chest to scratch a girl’s soft cheek.

"I think I’m in heaven," Harry teased as he kissed Ginny on the forehead, "in bed with two beautiful girls!"

"One’s in a drugged sleep, and the other’s exhausted, but interested in play despite her weariness," Ginny said, tickling him a bit. She looked across his chest at her best friend. "She looks awful."

"She’s having a hard time."

"Yeah. Losing both parents at once — how awful."

"Yeah," Harry said grimly. He knew all about how awful it was. Before long, he and Ginny were dozing along with Hermione. Some time later, Harry and Ginny were awakened by a flash of Merlin’s arrival.

"Merlin?" Harry said quietly. Ginny sat up, but Hermione still held on to Harry desperately. Harry was stuck. "Oh, come on, Hermione," he grumbled. "I need to get up for a minute."

Ginny sighed. "I’ll take her for a bit," she said, then slipped between Harry and Hermione, pulling her friend into her arms and lying back against the pillows.

"Thanks," Harry said, bending down and kissing her forehead before getting off the bed. He took the note off of Merlin’s leg and looked at the bird, who began chirping in a lower voice than normal.

"What’s wrong with him?" Ginny asked in concern.

Harry lifted his hand, asking her wordlessly to be quiet so he could listen to whatever the bird was telling him. The longer the bird chirped, the more Harry’s shoulders slumped. Finally, he dropped his chin to his chest as the bird quieted. He sighed heavily, then petted the phoenix. "Thanks, mate," he said in a low voice.

Ginny was truly frightened now. "Harry, what is it? Is George . . .?"

"George is fine — well, doing better, anyway," Harry said quickly. "Let me read this." He lighted his wand with a soft "Lumos," then stood quietly reading the letter Merlin had borne attached to his leg.

Ginny watched him closely. In the reflection of the wandlight, she could see the grave expression on his face, a frown line between his eyebrows, his mouth a thin line. The tension in her body must have gotten through to Hermione, because she suddenly woke up.

"Ron?" she said muzzily, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. "Ginny! What are you . . .? Where’s Ron?"

"He’s in our parents’ room right now. He’ll be back soon," Ginny said. "You seemed to need someone to hold you, so Harry was holding you and then Merlin brought him a message and I offered to hold you for a while. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I guess," Hermione replied, still mostly asleep. "What time is it?"

"About four in the morning, I think," Ginny said, squinting to see her watch in the dim light.

"Why’s Merlin bringing a message at four in the morning?" Hermione said, still not fully awake. "What’s going on?"

"I don’t know," Ginny said honestly.

"I need to go see your family," Harry said suddenly to Ginny. "Hi, Hermione. Feeling better?"

"I think so," she replied, looking confused. "I have a terrible headache, though. Have I been sick?"

"I’ll get you some pain potion," Ginny said, avoiding the question. She got up to get the potion and stopped Harry as he was about to leave the room. "What’s going on? What’s wrong?"

"I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore, Remus, Tonks and your parents. And Mad-Eye and Kingsley if they’re still here," he said in a quiet, anxious voice. "If you want to hear what’s going on, be in your parents’ room in a few minutes. Try to leave Hermione here. She doesn’t seem to know what happened." Ginny nodded and Harry raced out of the room and pounded down the stairs.

"What’s going on?" Hermione asked again, more awake now. "Harry seems worried."

"I don’t know, he wouldn’t tell me. He’s on his way to see Dumbledore," Ginny said dismissively. "Probably some project of theirs — you know them, always sharing secrets."

"What are you not telling me? Why are we here at Grimmauld Place?" Hermione said, finally awake. "It’s not the holidays. Have I been sick?"

"No, Hermione, you haven’t," Ginny said with a sigh. "What do you remember?"

"Erm . . . you and I ran up to Dumbledore’s office for some reason and were Portkeyed here with the boys," Hermione said, thinking hard. "We sat downstairs with your family for a while . . . and . . . oh!" Her hand flew to her mouth and tears formed in her eyes again. "It wasn’t a dream, was it?" she asked desperately. "My parents?"

"I’m so sorry," Ginny said, embracing her friend. "You had Dreamless Sleep Potion, a good strong dose. That’s why everything seemed a bit fuzzy when you woke up."

"Why am I awake, then? That should keep me asleep for hours!"

"You woke up when I tensed up while watching Harry read a message Merlin brought him. Apparently he was waiting for some news, and whatever it was, it’s bad. I’m to meet him in my parents’ room in a few minutes. He went downstairs to get Dumbledore and whoever else is guarding us."

"Don’t leave me here alone!" Hermione said, getting off the bed.

"I didn’t know if you’d want to hear more bad news," Ginny said, helping Hermione find her shoes.

"There can’t be any worse news," Hermione said grimly. "Let’s go."

Soon everyone, all of the Weasleys, Remus and Tonks, Dumbledore, Mad-Eye and Kingsley, Ginny and Hermione were gathered in Arthur and Molly’s room. Harry had Merlin on his shoulder, the letter in his hand, and looked very gloomy indeed.

"Go on, Harry," Dumbledore urged him when the young man couldn’t seem to begin.

"Right. Erm . . . I, um . . . I sent Merlin out to find Percy," he began, afraid to look at the Weasleys and see the hope in their eyes. "He did find him, but it’s not good news, I’m afraid." He finally lifted his eyes and looked from one dear face to the next. "Percy’s . . . Percy’s dead," he said flatly.

"What?’ Ron gasped, as Molly burst into fresh tears.

"Tell us what happened," Dumbledore said gently. "Merlin’s been talking to you continuously while we’ve been getting settled, and you have a rather long letter in your hand. There has to be more information. Start at the beginning. Where did Merlin find him?"

"He found him in a ditch out in the country in West Yorkshire. Percy’s mind was gone. And after Voldemort finished torturing him into insanity," he said with disgust, "he apparently let some Death Eaters beat him and put all kinds of Dark spells on him. When they’d had their fun, they tossed him in that ditch to die. Merlin flashed him to St. Mungo’s. I had tied a note to Merlin’s leg to tell whoever Merlin found there who Percy was and what I thought might have happened to him, and asked them to treat him. Merlin stayed to watch them examine and treat Percy."

"He was still alive when they got there?" Arthur asked in confusion. "What did they find?"

"They . . . um . . . ." He swallowed hard. "Marcus Pomfrey started a letter to me," he said, waving it as he spoke, "and explained what they’d found while Healer Bradford was finishing up working on Percy. They found all kinds of internal damage. Loads of broken bones. Lots of other things, and then there was the spell damage."

"What kind of spell damage?" Bill prompted.

"The one Marcus mentioned in here that caught my eye was one where ‘Head Boy’ is spelled out across his forehead in purple pustules," Harry replied, shaking his head. "Marcus was explaining what they’d found and what they were doing for him when he stopped writing because —"  He stopped, pushed his glasses up and rubbed his eyes tiredly, then went on, "because two staff members who were unknown Death Eaters charged into the room and attacked them. Healer Bradford was hurt, but he should recover. They . . . um  . . . they killed Percy. Marcus was hurt too, but not too badly."

A heavy silence filled the room. Moments later, it was punctuated by soft sobs and sniffles as the news sank in and the Weasleys understood they’d never have a chance to reconcile their differences with Percy.

Harry waited for them to calm down a bit, then went on doggedly. "The Aurors in the hospital caught them, of course, but they were only part of an attack that happened all over the hospital. A lot of Death Eaters were killed or captured. Only a few got away. That’s the good news. The bad news is, a lot of patients, staff and Aurors were killed or injured as well." He stopped and corrected himself. "That’s not right. No Aurors died — but several were badly injured."

"I’m going down there," Tonks said determinedly, starting to stride out of the door.

"Oh, no, you’re not!" Remus said, pulling her back.

"Remus, I’m an Auror!" she cried.

"And you’re pregnant!" he retorted, then glanced guiltily around. They hadn’t told everyone yet.

"Oh, how lovely!" Dumbledore said with a smile. "Congratulations. How nice to hear good news in these awful times. Remus is right, Tonks. You can’t fight now. You have a baby to consider."

"Bloody bad timing, that is," she grumbled.

"Harry, what else do you have to tell us?" Kingsley said in his slow, solemn voice.

"Fred and George are fine. George is awake now. The hospital’s been put in a lockdown condition — I think that means nobody in or out, except phoenixes, of course," he said, patting Merlin affectionately. "The Aurors are inspecting all the staff and locking any other people who have the Dark Mark in a room in the basement, with Anti-Disapparating Charms on them." He sighed. "That’s pretty much everything. You can read Marcus’s letter if you want, but I’ve told you what’s in it." He passed it around.

"I know you’ve written letters to the twins," Dumbledore said to the Weasleys as he suddenly stood up. "Get them together and give them to me. I’m going to see how things are down there."

A storm of protest met his statement.

"I’ll go as a phoenix. If I see someone I need to talk with, I can change into myself, but as a phoenix, I can observe and flash out of there quickly if I need to. And I can deliver those messages to the twins. I’m sure they’d like to receive them."

"Why do you need to go there?" Harry asked, confused. "You shouldn’t go alone. I’ll go with you."

"No, dear boy, you won’t. You are going to take some Dreamless Sleep Potion and go to bed and rest. So are the rest of you. Kingsley and Mad-Eye will guard the house, but you simply must get some rest, especially you, Harry."

"Why?"

Dumbledore placed a gentle hand on Harry’s shoulder and looked deeply into his eyes. "Because it’s time, Harry."


  • Previous
  • Next

Author Notes:

For those who don't believe a tiny embryo can have arms and legs to flap about - you're wrong. The baby has ALL of his parts by the time the woman is only eight weeks' pregnant. Check it out here. There are also photos available online and in books showing the stages of development from embryo to fetus (8 weeks) to full-term baby (my favourite is "A Child is Born" by Lennart Nilsson). These photos are beautiful and mysterious and amazing, showing a miracle in the making. Do check them out.

Order the London Lions T-shirts by clicking here or the logo below!