The Ministry fell on August 1st.

No surprise there. It was a long time coming. Muggle-borns, and any kind of wizard really, had been going missing at an exponential rate. The papers could barely keep up.

Months ago, The Daily Prophet had scrapped almost all the entertainment sections, dedicating themselves to reporting Death Eater sightings, deaths, torture, Imperius Curses, and missing people. It became standard for them to rush out Evening Prophets to cover everything.

Until those reports began fizzling out. Stories didn't add up. Suddenly Muggle-borns were getting "arrested" for trivial things. Murders changed to suicides and accidents.

Needless to say, Drew had grown grudgingly relieved that they had created the blood map.

Drew was pacing her empty house now, testing the wards. Ari was out with her friends finding some protection charms. Wilby and his mother were staying at Blaise's manor indefinitely, and she wondered if she should just live there too.

Every few days, Cyndee sent her an update on the ever-worsening Ministry situation. People were getting Imperiused left and right, and no one knew who was on whose side.

So when Cyndee used the S.A. sickles to signal the Ministry takeover, she didn't panic immediately. She had mentally prepared for this, but even then she had hoped that the Ministry wouldn't fall.

She was about to call Ari when a huge owl flapped through the door, a small card in its beak. Drew flinched in surprise. The wards shouldn't have let it in. Then she noticed the black dusting its feathers and realized it came via Floo Network, despite her house having been long disconnected.

She thought she'd seen the owl's particular zigzag markings before, but wasn't sure where.

The owl dropped the card on her bed before leaving through the open window. A couple of quick checks didn't reveal any curses.

This was weird, and she didn't know anyone who would contact her this way. But she shouldn't worry, right? All the Muggle-borns that had gone missing so far were established and influential wizards, or at least someone connected to one. Random teenagers were safe. Totally.

She flipped the paper over.

Drew —
I sold you out
RUN NOW

A cold chill enveloped her. "Jinx!" she yelled. "Jinx! Come out here right now! Where are you?"

Drew ran out of the room and flung open Aurora's door. "JINX GET DOWN HERE!"

Jinx meowed and leapt off the wardrobe into her arms, and they Disapparated just as the house exploded into red and green fire.

* ° * ° *

Drew appeared in front of Cyndee in her bedroom, scaring her to death. Sage came forward, "Whoa, what is happening?"

"My house blew up." She dropped Jinx on the bed and shoved the note into Sage's hand. "Get Cyndee and your phone. We're going to Burlington Arcade. Tell your parents —"

"NO!" Cyndee cried. "We can't tell my parents anything!"

There was no time for questions. Drew took Cyndee's hand and Apparated them to the Arcade entrance. Drew raced past the startled passerby.

"AURORA!" she bellowed, looking frantically through the numerous shops.

Cyndee hastened at a close pace with her cell phone to her ear, "Drew! I can't connect to Aurora's phone. I'm going to call Blaise and Wilby."

Drew couldn't find any sign of her sister and her friend. "Cyndee, there's meant to be a secret entrance to Havensalve Arcade. Do you know where?"

Cyndee's hand shook, "N-no. I'm sorry — "

"Don't apologize." Drew stared hard at the shops, trying to figure out which was likely to house magic.

"Wilby!" Cyndee exclaimed into the phone. She listened for a few seconds, and then looked at Drew with fear in her eyes. "He just checked the map... Aurora is already in Azkaban."

Drew swore and kicked the wall, ignoring the pain that flared up her whole leg. She took the phone. "Check again."

"Okay," Wilby said. "Yes, she's there. Aurora Getaway, North Sea."

She pictured her perpetually strung-out twin sister, no doubt losing her mind already. It might as well be a death sentence. The cold closed in and she could almost feel Dementors circling her.

"Drew?" Cyndee asked. "I think we should go back to my place now."

Drew probably should have been nicer to her sister.

She kept walking, "Wilby, Havensalve Arcade. Do you know where the entrance is? Ari's friends might still be around."

"I'll check with Blaise. One second."

At that second the phone cut out. She looked down, and the little green screen was completely blank. "Magic is near. We're at the entrance," she realized.

They were in front of The King's Head, a classy-looking pub built with dark wood. They ducked inside and immediately saw Sylvia Svee lying on a table, unconscious. A healer was hovering over her, waving his wand.

Sue Li spotted her and ran over, "Ari — Oh, Drew." She got choked up, "I — they took her. I tried everything. I swear I tried. I'm so sorry —"

"Who took her?" Drew demanded. "The Ministry?"

"Yes. Well, they said they were officers from Law Enforcement," she sniffled. "Barely even dressed correctly. They wanted to arrest her, but she didn't do anything! They completely discounted procedure and just fired at us when we hesitated."

"When did this happen?" Drew asked. "And do you know how they found you?"

Sue shook her head. "They showed up out of the blue about an hour ago. We Apparated from city to city, but they found us over and over again. That's when Ari realized they might be tracking us with the Trace, which hadn't worn off for Sylvia yet. But by then Sylvia was badly hurt. We did magic to stop the bleeding — and Ari — she gave herself up when they came."

The door swung open and Wilby and Blaise came running in.

"Oh excellent, you found the place," Blaise said. "Are you being pursued?"

"No," Drew said, and quickly filled them in about everything that happened. "And did you hear about the Ministry?"

They nodded, but Sue looked confused. "What about it?"

Drew got her Student Alliance sickle from her pocket and handed it to her. The words across the top now said The Ministry Fell. "It happened today. Right, Cyndee?"

"I-I don't know exactly when," Cyndee said. "I've only known a few minutes, but if you were chased an hour ago I guess it was maybe since then at least."

"Could they actually use the Trace to track people?" Drew asked. "And hijack the Floo Network?"

"Yes, I think. They must have taken over the Improper Use of Magic Office — that's for the Trace. And the Floo Network Authority."

"Isn't that one under Magical Transportation?" Blaise asked.

"Yes, my mum is the Head of that department. She and Dad don't seem Imperiused to me, but I don't know. I have a scary feeling."

Wilby was observing the chattering patrons in the bar. He said: "We should leave. It might not be safe here."

They agreed, and they left Sue and Disapparated to the edge of Blaise's family property. The Anti-Apparition Jinx around the area was both useful and annoying.

As they made the trek up the winding stone path, Wilby cleaned the soot off Drew's clothes. "I'm sorry about Aurora. And your home. Why did they target you two?"

"Student Alliance, probably." She wasn't completely convinced though. Did that really make them important enough to be hunted the instant the Death Eaters secured the Ministry's resources? Were they just easy targets?

Cyndee brought the note out of her pocket. "What about who wrote this warning?"

Drew had almost forgotten about it. Now that the emergency had ended in the worst-case scenario, ironically now was the moment they could slow down and think.

Together they examined the hurried messy scrawl, trying to will an answer into life. The paper itself was kind of fancy. The writing not so much. Perhaps it was desperation that made Drew recall an old memory.

Who was close enough to the Death Eaters and knew who she was? ...Who would give up her name to prove his loyalty?

She remembered fourth year, the Hogwarts Express leaving the station, and the warning of a prefect:

"Draco Malfoy might start naming names, and you really don't want to be one of them."

* ° * ° *

It was definitely Malfoy. She had compared her memories in the library's Pensieve, and the owl's markings exactly matched the one that brought the ferret his mail. Drew didn't care that he'd warned her or confessed. Her sister was being emotionally traumatized in a prison because of him.

Wilby did not take the news kindly. He flexed his fingers like he was about to choke someone — a mannerism he got from her. "I wish Jack and Morfinus killed him that night."

Cyndee gasped, and Blaise whistled. "Dial back on the charm or I'll be threatened. We can't exactly do anything about Malfoy, so what's our plan to save Aurora?"

Drew tried to push Wilby's statement out of her mind. A life was at stake, so business first. "Cyndee, do you know who can help?"

"I... so many of the people willing to send me updates have been fired or worse. And my parents... well, you know. I'm left with lower-level workers. I don't even know anyone in Law Enforcement."

The mention of Magical Law Enforcement gave Drew an idea. "Xavier," she realized. "We know he's a good person, right? Even if he's not working there anymore, he can totally figure something out for us."

"Are you positive?" Blaise asked suspiciously. "We only ever knew him as another student. And don't forget that bizarre interaction with Carolina that day. Did she not say that if you value your life, you shouldn't go find him?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"He's just saying that we can't know," Wilby reasoned. "If he's not on our side, you're essentially turning yourself in. And what if he's Imperiused? The Ministry's gone. If he hasn't been fired, it wouldn't be a good sign."

Cyndee nodded. "Law Enforcement was the first to go. A Ministry takeover would never work if that department wasn't completely under their control."

Drew shrugged. "I've got backup, don't I?"

Wilby clasped his hands. He didn't look sold on the idea. "How do we contact him? Trying to find him at the Ministry is suicide. Unless we can get his or his family's blood, the map is out of the question."

Drew frowned. "Don't his parents work at Gringotts? I've seen his mother at the Hogsmeade branch once or twice."

"Not anymore," Wilby said. "A few months ago the paper said there'd been some trouble, and they were fired. No one's heard of them. Of course we can go ask around, but I don't know. Goblins can be very secretive. And everyone's being so careful now."

Cyndee turned her head. "Lutwidge!"

Blaise's grey tawny owl came swooping from the windowsill to sit on her arm. Cyndee pet him, then asked, "Can you deliver a letter to Xavier Columbus?"

The owl ruffled his feathers and gave a vigorous head shake. They tried his parents and friends, but the owl kept shaking his head.

Blaise gave the owl a treat then sent him off. "So no one has even a P.O. box in the owl post system. But I suppose that's standard now. Do we have any idea where Xavier's from?"

Drew drummed her fingers on the table. "Well, his accent's from South England."

"Oh, brilliant," Blaise said. "That narrows it down to four blocks."

Drew glared at him. "As I said, I'm open to your ideas, Zabini."

"Wait..." Cyndee said suddenly. She looked to the side and went quiet for a moment, then seemed to return. She smacked her palm into the table, eyes going bright with victory. "I know where his friend Carolina lives."

"How?" Drew asked incredulously.

Sage gazed at her intensely, "Do you remember when we went to Hogsmeade in sixth year, and we met her?"

Drew hesitated. "Yes, but she hardly —"

"While you were talking to her, I was petting her dog, who had a tag with her address on it."

Blaise lit up. "You're a genius, Sage. Finding Carolina is just as good."

"Eh," she shrugged, but she was grinning, "right moment, right time. Of course, I can't recall it off the top of my head, but I can use the Pensieve real quick."

Wilby nodded. "Okay, but we need to be careful. Her family has had bounties on them for years because they're influential Muggle sympathizers who pissed off a lot of people. I doubt they're home, but I hope there are clues."

* ° * ° *

After a day of laying low just in case, they arrived at the address. Carolina's house was pretty like a picket fence daydream. A fluffy dog bed sat on the porch. Everything inside made it look occupied — paintings on the walls, crisps on the table, takeout menus and business cards on the fridge.

But something was off. Drew was reminded of a showroom, and then she realized why. There was an extreme lack of sentimentality. No pictures, no personality in the décor. And everything was brand new.

No, not brand new. Just never used.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Cyndee pointed at the fridge. "Um... wizards don't have those things. At least not ones so modern. They need electricity all the time, right?"

Drew opened it and vapour pooled out. "Oh wow, this is... an actual fridge. You can hear it running and everything. I thought it was enchanted."

Wilby looked over the food inside. "Look — butter, ramen, chocolate, juice, cereal, absurd amounts of condiments and canned food — none of these are actually perishable. Not for years, at least." He picked up a huge carton of apple juice and showed her the expiration date: 02 OCT 1994

"Gross," she said. "Actually, I'm curious what it tastes like. You think it ages like wine?"

He quickly put it back.

"The phones work too," Blaise noticed. "Even though they're well in the range of the protection spells. Taking down the wards made all the electronics go back up, making it seem like they were always working."

"This is a fake house that only tricks purebloods," Drew concluded. "No wonder the wards weren't that bad. What now?"

The dead-end didn't last long. When they found nothing and returned the next day, Blaise studied the fireplace and figured it out. He explained that a couple of old rich families — including his — had multiple houses directly connected via a private Floo Network that used customized powder. "You can just barely see some burn marks here. See how high they go? Dead giveaway, really."

They found the powder in a magically locked cupboard in "Carolina's room" that Cyndee took a day to undo. There was only enough for two, so Wilby gave Cyndee and Blaise the map. "Find us and meet us there."

Drew threw in the powder, dyeing the flames bright blue, and stepped in first.

At the end of the nausea-inducing ride, it quickly became clear that she had landed in the real house. It seemed empty so far, but it was definitely lived in.

The second she stepped out, she felt a sensation like the air had jellified before the fireplace. And when she spun around, she couldn't get back into the fire. "Dammit!" she shouted.

Wilby had just Floo-ed in, and he jumped back into the wall. "What? What is it?"

She cursed again. "There's a ward trapping me in the house!" She tried Apparating, but it could only bring her to different parts of the house, not outside.

When she returned to the living room, Wilby was inside too.

"Hey!" she gasped. "Why didn't you stay out?"

"I'm not letting you get trapped alone. I'll help you search."

"Alright. Fine." He was already inside anyway. She supposed they could figure it out, especially once Blaise and Cyndee found them.

"I went through the wards slowly," he added. "And I noticed that there are a lot of them. I'm not sure, but some of them looked exactly the same. Some don't complement. It's weird. And it's even weirder that they keep us in."

"Like a trap," Drew said. "Carolina's on the run, right? I guess they found her real home, like we did."

He looked worried. "That's right. We should hurry — find a way to locate Carolina or Xavier."

On the wall by the stairs was a working landline. "It's in the centre of the house," Wilby said. "Exactly far enough from the wards to not be affected by them. That's how Blaise installed his phone."

"More proof that this is the real place," Drew said.

After checking that there was no human presence in the house, they quietly wandered around the first floor.

It seemed like nothing was amiss until you looked closer.

One window was heavily cracked in only one corner and had pieces sticking out — the sign of a shoddy Repair Charm. A huge blast mark was under the awkwardly placed coffee table. The chain lock for the back door was broken in half. The faint smell of fried fabric hung in the air.

It was clear that many battles were fought here.

All the photo frames were empty. They entered the study, and it was a mess of shredded papers and folders.

"I'll check upstairs," Wilby said, pointing. "You get started here and signal if you need me, okay?"

She nodded and made her way to a fancy desk. She was about to force open a drawer when —

"Well well well." A woman someone shoved her into the table, wand at her throat. "Who are you, dear? A Fernández in disguise? Legilimens!"

Carolina's kitchen blurred and vanished, replaced by what looked like rapidly playing films.

She was eight, fighting with her siblings about what movie they should watch, then eleven, staring at Eliza's black hair fluttering out behind her, then thirteen and falling off her broom.

Drew let out a cry of indignation, then slammed her mental walls into place and forced her out. "Hey!"

The lady spun her around and studied her face. "Hold it, aren't you that brainy brat I arrested a few days ago? Oh! you're her twin! The one that got away."

Drew glared at her. "You're pushing 30 and beefing with teenagers."

Her face twisted, "Oh, you're a funny one."

Drew flung herself sideways, then spun and Apparated upstairs. "Wilby —"

She did not expect to see Xavier Columbus, in full Law Enforcement gear, blasting Wilby clear across the hallway. Wilby broke through a window that shattered in multi-colour, and he plummeted off the second story with a short shriek.

Drew screamed. "Now what was that?"

Xavier scowled at her, "For Merlin's sake —"

The woman materialized at the stairwell. Another man burst out of a bedroom. Drew whirled around to Apparate downstairs, but Xavier appeared before her and yanked her back, Splinching her fingernails off.

Drew gasped in pain. "Xavier!"

He slammed her into the wall so hard her head broke through a glass picture frame. A shard stabbed her in the cheek and her head rang. The half-Apparation already disoriented her, and now she was about to faint. While she was distracted, Xavier ripped her wand away and magically screwed her jaw shut.

"Mmph!" she protested weakly, body going limp.

"She know you?" the woman asked, ambling over. "Said your name, she did."

"Hogwarts," Xavier explained gruffly. "I was three years her senior."

Drew struggled to keep her eyes open, but everything was too bright. She could hear the man chuckle as he prowled closer. His voice was gravelly and a lot older. "You were one popular boy, ey? The Sebastian kid knew you too."

Xavier said, "The perks of being Head Boy."

The other man snorted. "The Head Boy in my year was a Mudblood. I'm pleased that things have turned around, if only a little. I'm leaving. Have fun with her." He Disapparated.

The woman stayed, and she poked a barely conscious Drew in the cheek. "She's so cute all knocked out. The girl is no Fernández, but better than nothing. Hand her to me, will you? I found her first."

"I caught her," he shot back, gripping her arm tighter. "That's what counts."

The lady laughed like a knife sharpening. "Since when do you make arrests? It's child's play for someone with a record like you."

Xavier sighed and spoke in the same chilling tone: "Robards complained that I make too many martyrs."

"Hmph," she said, and she squatted down until her breath stirred Drew's hair. "Hello, missy. You're about to go to Azkaban! Exciting, isn't it?"

"You can go join your sister," Xavier said casually.

At those words, Drew's brain was on alert again. What did he say?

"Oh, the poor girl is really out of it," the woman cooed, patting Drew's head. "You didn't just kill her, did you?"

"No, I can feel her breathing."

"Shame. Oh well, I'll catch another one soon." Drew heard her boots clunk down the stairs, until they suddenly stopped. "Hey Columbus, I'm curious. Who was the last Mudblood you sent to Azkaban instead of the grave?"

"Probably that Quentin guy." Xavier pulled Drew off the wall and held her up. "I'll end my shift now. See you tomorrow."