Four days later, Megan still hadn't received any replies. She stayed in her room alone most of the day, not wanting to have another row which could make her use more illegal magic. She tried reading her spellbooks, but soon found herself unable to concentrate. Not to mention that they amplified her fear of possibly being expelled. She was staring out the window, stroking Mira absently.

"At least you're still here, eh?" Megan said, scratching her ears.

Mira let out a soft woof and put her head on Megan's stomach. Megan was just considering trying to ring Hermione again, when the door to her room opened. She sat up and glanced at Vernon, who was standing on her threshold. She blinked, surprised. Her uncle had not come to her room for the past three years when Dobby had paid her a visit, resulting in Vernon barring her windows...

"Uncle Vernon?" she asked. "What do you want?"

He was wearing his best suit and looked very smug.

"We – Petunia, Nathalie and I – are going out."

"Oh." Megan said.

Her uncle eyed her carefully.

"You are to stay in your room."

"Yeah, whatever." She said, shrugging.

Vernon raised an eyebrow, suspicious at her lack of argument.

"I'll stay put, don't worry..." Megan said wearily.

He still seemed unconvinced, but closed the door without a word, his heavy footsteps loud enough for her to hear from the other end of the hall, followed by the snapping sound of the front door closing. It was still light outside, Megan noticed as she glanced out the window. She saw Nathalie, who seemed to have recovered from her Dementor ordeal, come out grumbling about something Megan couldn't here. as the car drove off. She stared up at the ceiling and heaved a long sigh.

NO! CEDRIC!

He was standing next to her, wand raised, ready to protect her, and then a burst of green light threw him backwards, where he lay lifeless. Megan felt like her own heart had been ripped out... now Voldemort was turning his wand on her... she wanted to run, but her legs refused to move... she tried to reach her wand, but her hands were frozen. She could only stare at Voldemort's tall cloaked figure, the pale, lifeless face with slit nostrils, the dark eyes full of expectation as he raised his wand and fired another burst of green light...

Megan woke up with a start, gasping. She sat still, panting. She saw she was in the dark when she looked outside.

I guess I fell asleep without noticing... she told herself.

She closed her eyes. Then, running a hand through her hair, she took deep breaths. It had just been a dream. Cedric was alive. He was fine. He had survived the attack and she would see him soon... or so she hoped, anyway... She sat up and leaned against the wall, Mira hopping up beside her.

"... Do you ever have nightmares, Mira?"

Mira gave her a look.

"No, probably not... Well, trust me, you're not missing anything."

She glanced at the picture on her bedside table, her heart still hammering in her chest. Cedric was grinning at her. Megan missed that grin more than ever... Just then, the silence of the house was broken by a crashing sound from somewhere nearby. Megan froze, listening intently, Mira jumping to attention too. She could hear noises downstairs. But it didn't sound like the Dursleys. And it couldn't be burglars, because they would have kept their voices down, and this lot clearly wasn't troubling themselves to do so. Megan got to her feet, pulling out her wand. She glanced at Mira, who while looking alert, wasn't growling. Megan wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. But there was nothing else for it. She had to go see what was going on. She knew it would probably automatically sentence her to expulsion, but she wasn't about to let herself be killed. She got onto the landing and crept forwards, wand out. She could hear whispers, which grew louder as she came closer. She paused at the corner, as footsteps came up the stairs. She saw a light and a shadow against the wall. Then, she leapt into the open, wand raised.

"Easy, Megan, it's us!"

Megan stared. There, right before her eyes, was...

"Professor Lupin?!"

"Put that wand down, child, you'll take someone' s eye out." Said another voice.

"Professor Moody?"

"Not sure about that, didn't get much teaching done, did I?" he chuckled.

"You look exactly like I thought you would," said a young woman standing behind them. She had pink shoulder length hair and wide brown eyes.

"I see what you mean, Remus," said a tall black wizard. "She looks just like her parents."

"A savant mix of the two," Lupin agreed.

"Are you sure it's her?" Said the black one. "We don't want to take any risks."

"Megan, what is your Patronus?"

"A phoenix."

"That's her," he said.

Megan, completely baffled, was about to put her wand back in her pocket.

"Don't put your wand there, child! It could ignite!"

"Relax, Moody." Lupin said, while Moody grumbled about lack of basic security. "Megan, meet Tonks." He added, turning to her.

"Tonks...?"

"She hates her first name," Moody growled.

"You would if your mother called you Nymphadora." Tonks said. "Hi, Megan, pleasure to meet you."

They shook hands. Lupin then turned to the others.

"And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt. Elphias Dodge, Emeline Vance, and Dedalus Diggle. Oh, and this is Hestia Jones and Sturgis Podmore."

She shook hands with them. Moody then looked at her.

"Haven't officially met, have we?" he said gruffly.

"... No..." Megan said.

The last time she'd seen him he had been sitting at the bottom of a deep trunk. It felt odd to meet someone she thought she'd known all the previous year, Megan told herself as they shook hands.

"What are you all doing here?" she asked.

"We're your guard," Tonks said. "We're taking you as soon we get the signal."

"Taking me where?" Megan asked.

"We've set up HQ somewhere safe," Lupin said.

Megan was glad to see that she had once again been kept up to speed.

"What's going on?" Megan asked.

"Sorry, can't discuss it here." Lupin said. "It's too risky."

"How are we going to wherever you're taking me?" she asked.

"Brooms. I hear you're a good flier." Moody said.

"An excellent one," Lupin assured.

"I'm told you have a Firebolt," Tonks said enviously. "I still have a Comet 260..."

"You had better get everything packed, Megan, we'll be leaving in about fifteen minutes." Lupin said. "We need to leave exactly on time."

"I'll come and help you." Tonks smiled.

"Er... okay. Er... kitchen's on the first left from the stairs, if you're thirsty."

"Noted." Lupin said.

So they walked up the stairs.

"Bit too clean, for my taste. Feels empty, unnatural. Ah, this is better," she smiled as they entered Megan's room.

Megan flushed slightly. Her room was a bit untidy. There were pieces of parchment and sheet music on the floor, Mira's hairs, Hedwig's cage needed a clean and her books were in a pile on the floor from when she had tried to distract herself. Her trunk was open and bursting with Muggle clothes and her robes.

"Hm... you know, I don't think this shade of pink suits me very well... I think it's a bit too candy-flossy, don't you?" Tonks asked looking at herself in the mirror of Megan's room.

"Er..." Megan said uncertainly as she put her books in order in her trunk.

"Yes, it is." Tonks decided.

She looked at her reflection and seconds later, a hint of purple mingled with the pink of her hair.

"Wow...!" Megan said, eyes wide. "That's pretty cool, how did you do that?"

"I'm a Metamorphmagus," Tonks explained. "I can change my appearance at will. Handy, when you're an Auror, trust me."

"You're an Auror?!" Megan asked in surprise.

It was the one career path she'd considered after Hogwarts. And Tonks looked young, barely twenty-five. And, Megan was pleased to see, she wasn't covered in scars.

"Yes, and Kingsley is too. He's higher ranked than me, mind. I only qualified just last year. I'm so clumsy, did you hear me break that plate?"

"Can you learn to be an Metamorphmagus?" Megan asked, knelt down by her trunk and forgetting to pack.

Tonks glanced at her with a chuckle.

"I expect you'd like to hide that scar, sometimes, eh?"

"Yeah..." Megan admitted.

"Well, I'm afraid Metamorphmagi are born, not made. Most wizards use spells or potions to change their appearance. Hm... we'd better get a move on..." she added.

"Oh, yeah..."

"Here, let me... pack!"

Megan saw her things fly around the room, fold themselves and line up neatly into her large trunk.

"Cool," she said.

"Nothing to it." Tonks said with a smile, and pointed to Hedwig's empty cage. "Scourgify."

It cleaned itself. Tonks glanced at Megan.

"Your wand still in your jeans? Both bottocks on? Good. Let's go."

They made their way down the stairs.

"I've left your aunt and uncle a note, Megan," Lupin said. "Telling them you're safe."

"That'll just depress them."

"And that you'll be back next summer."

"Do I have to?" Megan asked.

He smiled but made no comment.

"Come on, let's get outside."

They made their way outside, Megan with her broom in hand.

"But where are we going, the letter says I'm expelled."

"Not yet, you're not." Lupin said firmly.

"Don't worry, we'll explain everything when we get there," Tonks said.

"Kingsley, you take point." Moody instructed. "Stay in position. Even if one of us is killed, don't break ranks. And if anything happens, Potter, keep going east."

Megan nodded, though she couldn't help a slight gulp as she glanced at her Firebolt, a gift from Sirius. Hopefully, it was fast enough she could out-fly any eventual pursuers...

"On your brooms...!" he ordered.

"Here's the signal!" Lupin said sharply.

"Okay. Go!"

They soared up into the sky.

It would probably have felt better to fly again if Megan hadn't been so confused and, thanks to Moody, a little nervous. She followed the others steadily. The night and their black cloaks made them almost invisible. Tonks was flying beside her.

"Hard left, Muggle looking up!" Moody roared.

They quickly turned. They flew east for another quarter hour, and Megan saw they were flying over London. She could see Big Ben shining in the distance. They soared along the Thames, swerving past boats.

"Up and left! We want to avoid the motorway!" Moody said.

So Megan and the others rose high up. Megan wished she had taken her cloak. She was getting cold.

"Okay, keep it up..." Lupin called.

"Not too far, now, Megan," Tonks said.

"We should maybe turn back a bit, check no one's following." Moody said.

"FOR MERLIN'S SAKE, ALASTOR, WE ARE NOT TURNING BACK!" Tonks exploded. "We're all freezing, and we're nearly there, anyway!"

To Megan's astonishment, Moody didn't respond.

"Time to descend." Lupin called

Megan glanced at Lupin who was in front of her and followed him as he dived downwards. They landed in the cover of the trees in a small park and quickly crossed the street to a row of large brick buildings. But it was missing a number, Megan noticed. It had the numbers eleven and thirteen, but not twelve. Moody tapped the floor three times with his stick and there, between the number eleven and thirteen, a new brick building appeared, identical. Megan glanced at the buildings beside this one, where no one seemed to have noticed a thing.

"Inside now, hurry!" Moody said, and they all climbed the stairs and stepped in.

The house was clearly old, and had only recently been inhabited, Megan noticed, judging by the dust and the tattered carpet on the stairs. Megan could hear voices nearby but couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Ah, Megan, at last!"

Mrs Weasley scurried out and squeezed her.

"Hi, Mrs Weasley... What's –"

"Dinner will have to wait a bit, I'm afraid, but the others are all waiting for you, straight upstairs, first left."

Megan knew she wouldn't get any answers so she obeyed while the others disappeared into a room.