"We're going out tonight. You and your brother had better not cause any trouble, or, believe me--"

"Have fun at dinner, Uncle," I interrupted.

Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley left and I ran upstairs to Harry, happy that we had the house to ourselves.

Harry, however, didn't share my excitement. "We need to get out of here," he complained.

"How can we leave?" I asked, throwing myself onto his bed.

"I don't know--"

Multiple pops from downstairs alerted us that someone had Apparated inside. We rushed to see who was in the house.

"Hermione! Ron!" Harry exclaimed. Fred and George were already speaking with Tonks, who stood with them. Hagrid, Bill Weasley, Mad-Eye Moody, Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mundungus Fletcher, Fleur Delacour, and Mr Weasley were all standing in the parlor.

"Harry, Y/n," Lupin said, "go pack your trunks. Quickly."

We ran up and did as told, and when we returned, a plan seemed to be hatching.

"Alright, you ready?" Moody said, pulling out two bottles of dark liquid.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"Polyjuice Potion!" he explained. "The younger ones will dress up as one of you while we take you to the Burrow." He turned to the others, handing the younger of us one of the vials. "Ready?"

Hermione and Fleur drank, their features shifting to match mine while Fred, George, and Mundungus turned into Harry. Once everyone had changed to look like me or Harry, we found an adult to travel with and left the house.

The real Harry and I followed Hagrid and stepped into his flying motorcycle. With a jolt, we left the ground and flew into the air. We took off, heading North. The flight was calming.

My peace only lasted a moment, ending when two Death Eaters appeared next to the motorcycle. Harry held onto Hedwig, his owl, shielding her, but that wasn't enough: one of the Death Eaters shot a Killing Curse and it hit Hedwig, sending her flying over the side of the bike.

As Harry absorbed the shock of his beloved pet's death, Hagrid fell unconscious due to the Stunning spells being shot at him. The bike began to fall at an alarming rate. I stood up, holding on to Hagrid's back to steady myself as I grabbed the steering wheel, and directed the bike upwards again. Hagrid awoke after a moment and took the wheel back.

Once I sat down again, a searing pain split through my neck from my lightning-bolt scar. Harry flinched, holding his forehead. Voldemort had to be nearby.

I looked around, trying to spot him, and I saw him flying unaided at the same level as the bike.

"Avada Kedavra!" he yelled, holding a wand that was dark compared to the white one he usually had.

"Priori Incantatem!" Harry and I yelled, watching with satisfaction as Voldemort's wand split in two halves.

We flew faster, shaking the Death Eaters. We flew until we reached Ted Tonks' house, the safe house. We crashed through a barrier and onto the ground, entering the house quickly.

"Death Eaters, loads of them," Harry explained, "we were chased--"

"Death Eaters? What d'you mean, Death Eaters?" Ted Tonks said, walking up to us. "I thought they didn't know you were being moved tonight."

"They knew."

We walked through the house, following Ted.

"Here's the Portkey, be careful," he said, showing us the small teacup. "Tell Molly and Arthur I say hello."

"Thanks," I said, reaching for it, "we will."

And with that, we grabbed the Portkey and were transported to the Burrow. Fred and Mr Weasley were already waiting for us with Ms Weasley.

Lupin and George appeared at the same time as us (from a different safe house), but they were running into the Burrow frantically.

"Move along, move along!" Lupin said, holding George carefully. The entire left side of his head was covered in blood.

We ran inside with him, watching as he was put on the couch.

"What's wrong with him?" Fred said, worried. "Is his mind affected?"

"Saintlike," George choked out. "You see, I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?"

"Pathetic. Pathetic!" Fred said, throwing his arms up. "With the whole wide world of ear-related humour before you, you go for holey?"

Mrs Weasley began treating his injury, which turned out to be his ear. It was cut off.

"Snape did this!" Lupin said, outraged. "That filthy, low-lying--"

"Remus!" Mrs Weasley warned. "Language!"

Bill and Fleur then arrived.

"Moody's dead," Bill said, scowling. "That coward Mundungus Apparated away when he saw Voldemort, and Moody was killed."

~~~

"You look stunning," I said, gently putting Fleur's curls on her shoulders. She and I were sitting in Ginny's bedroom, which she was sharing with her future sister-in-law.

"Thank you," Fleur said.

Mrs Weasley entered the room, pulling me out. Harry was standing in the hallway.

"Ron and Hermione seem to think that the four of you are dropping out of Hogwarts," she said, crossing her arms.

"Oh," I said, looking down, "yeah. We are."

"May I ask why you are abandoning your education?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"Dumbledore left us things to do," Harry answered. "Ron and Hermione know about it, and they want to come too. Dumbledore didn't want anyone else to know, Mrs Weasley. I'm sorry."

She sighed. "Scrimgeour wants to give you something. Come with me."

We followed her into the sitting room, where Hermione and Ron sat across from the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour.

"Good morning," he said, pulling out a piece of parchment. "It is my duty to share Dumbledore's will with you."

"He had a will?" Ron asked.

"Of course!" said Scrimgeour. "Now, to Hermione Jean Granger, the original Tales of Beedle the Bard." He handed her a tattered book, which Ron chuckled at. "To Ronald Bilius Weasley, Dumbledore's own invention, the Deluminator." Scrimgeour handed Ron a small mechanism that looked like a lighter. "To Harry James Potter, the Snitch he caught in his very first Quidditch match." Harry reached for the Snitch. "And, finally, to Y/n M/n Potter, the Sword of Gryffindor."

"Where is it?" I asked.

"Oh, you cannot have it."

"Why?"

"Because is it not Dumbledore's to give."

"What?" I said. "He had it in his office!"

"That does not mean it was his. You may go now."

We stood up and angrily walked off, leaving Scrimgeour to talk with Mrs Weasley. When I reached Ginny's room again, she pulled me in and tossed a dress at me.

"Put this on! We need to get ready for the wedding."

I sighed and put the dress on. It was long in the back but cut off at my knees in the front, so it went well with the boots I decided to wear. Once we were all ready, Hermione, Ginny, and I went outside to the large canopy that was set up for the wedding.

~~~

Three hours later, the wedding was over and we were at the reception.

Bill and Fleur danced around. I saw Viktor Krum standing around the edge of the tent. Luna Lovegood and her father, Xenophilius, walked around. He was wearing an odd necklace with a line, circle, and a triangle.

I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye and looked up.

"That man," said Krum, walking up to me, "is a traitor."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Do you mean Xenophilius?"

"Yes," he said, scowling, "that is the sign of Grindelwald."

I nodded, confused. Viktor walked off, leaving me alone again. I saw Harry sitting with a red-haired witch and an older wizard, so I walked over and sat with them.

"Skeeter's at it again!" cried the wizard. "She's written a whole book just about Dumbledore! Mad, I say!"

"Mad?" said the witch, who I realized was Ron's aunt. "More like genius! The whole book is the truth! Word is it, she talked to someone that knew the Dumbledore family very well. Both you and I know who that is."

"A monstrous betrayal," said the wizard, taking a sip from his glass of mead.

"Who are we talking about?" Harry asked.

Muriel leaned in a bit. "Bathilda Bagshot."

"Who?" I asked.

"My god, child," she said, sipping her glass, "she's only the most celebrated magical historian in a century! She was as close to the Dumbledores as anyone. Oh, I'm sure Rita Skeeter thought it was well worth the trip to Godric's Hollow to take a peek into that rattled cage."

"Godric's Hollow?" said Harry, tilting his head. "Bathilda Bagshot lives in Godric's Hollow?"

"Well, that's where she first met Dumbledore!" Muriel exclaimed.

"You don't mean to say he lived there too?" I asked.

"The family moved there after his father killed those three Muggles!" Muriel said with a bit of a laugh. "Quite the scandal. Honestly, child, are you sure you knew him at all?"

I sighed and looked away, bored. I began to zone out, ignoring the noise around me, until I was jolted from my thoughts. A silver lynx Patronus burst into the canopy.

"The Ministry has fallen," it said in Kingsley Shacklebolt's deep voice. "The Minister of Magic is dead. They are coming. They are coming!"

The lynx disappeared. Harry ran to me and we hurried to find Ron and Hermione. The crowds thinned quickly as people Disapparated.

The black shadows of Death Eaters rushed into the canopy. Hermione grabbed Ron and Harry, who grabbed my arm.

We Disapparated, reappearing in the middle of a busy street. I looked around, bringing my friends down an alleyway so we could avoid the stares we were receiving. We sat down and Hermione pulled out clothes for each of us from her bag.

"Hermione, you're a genius!" Ron said, taking the jeans and shirt she had given him.

After changing behind a dumpster, we walked into a small restaurant.

"So, Hermione," I said, sitting down, "how did you get your parents to you let you come here?"

"Well," she said, looking away, "I wiped their memories of me and moved them to Australia."

"We have to go back to the Burrow," Harry said, ignoring the waitress who had just walked up.

"Harry, they're after you two," Ron said, waving the waitress off. "We can't."

"For tonight?" asked the waitress, who hadn't moved.

"Coffee," I said, speaking up.

The four others asked for the same; we all knew we would be needing it. The waitress left to brew our drinks.

"So, where to next?" I asked. "The Leaky Cauldron?"

"Too dangerous," said Hermione, shaking her head.

"If Voldemort's already taken over the Ministry then no place is safe," Ron added. "Everyone from the wedding would have gone into hiding."

"Oh, my rucksack with all my things. I've left it at the Burrow," said Harry, sighing.

Hermione shook her head then pulled it out of her bag. As she did, two men walked through the doors. They sat down on the other side of the restaurant, glaring at us angrily.

"Down!" Harry yelled as the men fired spells at us.

We all ducked under the table, shooting counterattacks quickly.

"Stupefy!" I said, watching as one of them fell back.

Once they were taken care of, Harry said, "Get the lights and lock the doors."

Ron clicked the Deluminator and the lights flew into it. Hermione pulled down the blinds and locked the doors.

"This one's Rowle," said Harry, walking up to one of the Death Eaters.

"And this one's Dolohov," added Ron, "I recognize him from the wanted posters."

"What should we do with them?" Hermione asked. "Kill them?"

"No," I said, walking up to them. "It's better we take their memories."

"Hermione?" Harry said quietly, waiting for her to do it.

"Obliviate."

Without ever drinking our coffee, we Disapparated.