CH-2

I turn my attention back to squeezing the juice out of two Boom Berries. I pour the liquid into the cauldron and watch as it begins to bubble. Then I move it to the stove and point my wand at it.

"Incendio."

The fire lights up, and I stir the concoction.

"Go stand by the door. I'm sure more of them will be arriving shortly," I say.

Ron leaves the room without protest, closing the kitchen door behind him.

"Are the Death Eaters still occupying Hogwarts?" Mrs. Weasley asks me.

I nod. "They kept the Anti-Disapparition Jinx in place, too. I barely made it out alive."

Mrs. Weasley pats my shoulder. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not really. I'll finish this potion on my own. Do you need a potion for Fred, George, or Bill?"

"I'll just take some Blood-Replenishing Potion," Mrs. Weasley says. She opens up a cupboard to pull out a small bottle.

"When I'm done with this potion for Harry, I'll make some more. We'll probably need a lot more than that bottle for the others, when they get back."

"Thank you, dear."

She leaves the kitchen with the bottle, and I look at the thick, bubbling potion in the cauldron. Maybe I should have added more water, but it's too late at this point—this'll have to do. It looks a touch too thick, but I hope it'll be fine.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Weasley bustles back in.

"Do we still have any more of that Burn-Healing Paste?" she asks, opening the cupboard that contains our healing potions.

"Yes, I think it's on the top shelf," I reply. "Who got burned?"

"Remus," Mrs. Weasley replies.

I turn just in time to see Ron supporting Lupin into the room. Tonks follows the pair closely, an anxious look on her face. Her hair has turned white, and she looks almost aged with worry. I wonder if all Metamorphmagi express their worry this way.

Mrs. Weasley waves her wand, and a small wooden box floats down from the top shelf and into her hand. Tonk lets out a sigh of relief, immediately snatching the box from Mrs. Weasley and pulling the lid open. I pass her a small butter spreader, but she barely spares me a glance as she turns to her husband. Ron helps her pull Lupin's shirt off, and I hiss at the sight of his extensive burns across his left shoulder, torso, and the left side of his neck. Tonks starts spreading the thick orange paste over his burns, a very worried expression on her face.

I turn back to the potion and continue stirring. Damn that stupid Mundungus for getting us into that mess. What kind of a spy is he, anyway? Can he not count? Or did he fall asleep during his watch? I plan to wring his neck when this ordeal is over and the survivors all return to Grimmauld Place.

This is probably the worst aftermath of a battle that I've had to deal with since the beginning of the war. Three deaths, all in one night, and it's not even over yet. I'm sure that there will be more by the time the sun rises.

Miraculously, not many of us have died so far. Arthur Weasley passed at the Battle of Hogwarts, when the last Horcruxes were destroyed. Professor Snape was killed as well, but now we finally know that he was on our side, that he was Dumbledore's man to the end. I still can't believe the extent of his love for Harry's mother.

I wish someone could love me like that, but such a silly, girly wish has no place in a world like this.

I continue stirring the potion and think back to my narrow escape.

Perhaps Voldemort is losing support from his followers.

Who was the Death Eater who set me free? And why did he do it?

I hear a loud whistle and race toward the window.

I'm all the way up in the hallway, right by the portrait of the Fat Lady—it's my last night up here on the rotation.

That whistle can only mean one thing: they've found an intruder. I race down the steps to join the others on a search through the grounds. I wonder what idiot decided to stroll across Hogwarts territory tonight.

Weren't the members of the Order supposed to be going into an ambush at the Leaky Cauldron?

I shake my head as I leave the castle through the giant doors, followed by several other Death Eaters. It's silent, and I run toward the Forbidden Forest. I'm sure that if the intruder is smart, he or she will be on their way to an Apparition Point. The others probably have all the points covered, but we're all required to go after intruders anyway.

Pointless.

A waste of effort.

As soon as I start nearing the Apparition Points, I slow down to a walk. Many Death Eaters are nearby. We're all moving quietly, looking for any sign of someone who isn't one of us.

I catch a glimpse of someone without a hood and am about to call out when I notice that it's a girl with long, bushy hair.

Long… bushy hair…

Granger.

Fuck.

What is she doing here? Shouldn't she be off with the Order, dying in an ambush? Why is she here, within reach?

Why do I just happen to be in the right place to save her?

I consider my options, as though I don't already know what I'm going to do.

As though I even have a choice.

I stopped having a choice years ago.

Years ago, those ridiculously bouncy curls stopped being annoying to me. That know-it-all attitude ceased to frustrate me. The fact that she had "dirty blood" became irrelevant to me. The day that I looked into her eyes and realized just how warm, brown, and fucking beautiful they were… that was the day that I had lost my freedom, lost my choice.

I watch as a silvery otter bounds into the woods.

Several not-so-bright Death Eaters run after it, taking the bait. I wait silently and watch as that bushy head of hair bounds through the woods. Then I run silently along, making a parallel path with her in the woods. I see a Death Eater following closely behind her, and another on her other side.

Some hexes are exchanged, but there's nothing I can do about them.

I don't want to interfere.

If I do anything that even remotely angers the Dark Lord, my parents will die. He made that very clear the last time I saw him, when Longbottom got away on my watch. Not my fault fucking Vincent got in the way.

Although I don't care much for my father, I'll miss my mother. I don't want to interfere. I shouldn't.

But I have to.

When I see her crash into a Death Eater—I recognize from his build that it's Yaxley, my heart clenches.

I Disarm her and snatch her wand out of the air. I don't want it to fall into anyone else's hands. Then I use her wand to fire three Killing Curses rapidly, one after another. Yaxley crumples first, followed by the one behind her and the one on her other side.

I rush over to her, tugging my cloak off.

We don't have much time. I already hear other Death Eaters heading our way. It's impossible that three Killing Curses would have escaped their notice.

I throw my cloak around her shoulders from behind. I can't afford letting her know that I'm the one letting her go. I may be wearing a mask, but I don't want her to see me nevertheless. She turns, trying in vain to see who I am, but I shove her head back to face forward and yank the hood over her head.

"Don't move," I growl into her ear.

I tug the hood up over her head again—it doesn't seem secure, and I don't want it falling off. That bushy hair is too damned obvious. Then I thrust her wand back into her hand and give her a hard shove forward. She stumbles toward the nearest Apparition Point.