A little family drama is to be expected with all major holidays. when it goes up in flames, it's a little less expected.
~Elodie's POV~
My eyes fluttered open, the sound of a blazing fire from my nightmare waking me. I tilted my head up to see the way Freds mouth was slightly parted open, a soft snore escaping. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, I didn't expect him to be. Careful not to disturb him I rose from bed and made my way to the bathroom to see it was a faucet leaking that woke me. With each step I felt a tug from the space between my thighs. It probably wasn't a good idea to go for the third round last night. But I could make the argument either way.
"Hey," I heard him call from the bed. "Alright?" He asked, his groggy voice revealing how tired he was. I walked to the foot of the bed, taking in the sight of him and the way he laid on his back, tucking his hand behind his head to prop him up. The way the covers tangled around his legs, hiding his naked body. "Come back to bed," He asked. I crawled my way up the bed, placing myself underneath his arm, taking in the smell of cinnamon and vanilla.
"I love you," I whispered, drawing tiny shapes into his chest.
He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me on top of him, engulfing me in his warmth before placing a kiss to the top of my head. "I love you too, darling," He said. He shifted to reach over and pop open the pocket watch that rested on his night stand before turning to completely engulf me in a hug. "Happy Christmas," He said, rolling over to hover over me, and cover my face with a dozen peckish kisses.
"Happy Christmas, my love," I said as I giggled against his lips, feeling his fingers tickled against my sides as they moved back and forth under my shirt. "Freddie!" I said a bit louder as he kept tickling me. "Harry's in the next room," I whispered, feeling him stop for only a second to look at the door.
"He's in our house. Should know better than to think I'd throw up a silencing charm," He objected, moving his hips forward, pressing his growing erection into my middle. "That is if he hasn't already been scared by what he heard last night." As my eyes widened, preparing myself to scold him like I'd never done so before, he crashed his lips to mine. He made his way down my body, picking up where we were too tired to continue last night, making up for the missed orgasms he believed he owed me after being too scared to touch me the last month.
***
I removed the dish of mashed parsnips from the oven, setting it on the counter to cool a bit before dinner would be ready. We'd arrived at the burrow just after breakfast time to unwrap gifts and help Molly with any preparation she may need for Christmas dinner. Correction, I arrived ready to help Molly, while Fred kept everyone entertained showing off how Ruby could summon her own binkie with her magic coming through. Much to my protest, she'd been dressed in a fluffy, tulle filled dress, made specifically for the christmas holiday.
"Do you recon the pie is ready yet, mum?" I asked Molly quickly, as I peeked into the oven to check the coloring of the crust on her apple.
She dusted her hands against her apron, cleaning off the flour left behind by the dinner rolls she was in the process of preparing. "Let's have a look dear," She said with a huge smile on her face as she crouched down to check, making sure the crumble was the perfect shade to suit her liking. "That looks wonderful. Set that at the window to cool and then have the boys help you set the table, would you sweetheart?" She instructed. Though I knew there would be no help offered by the sounds of laughter erupting from the living room.
As I set the table, I looked over to see the unfamiliar scene that played out before me as if I'd touched the dial and set on a sitcom. The way Bill and Fleur were enchanted by Ruby, only taking their eyes off of each other to share a look. The way Harry and George wanted to stay near her, prepared to step in as the protective uncles they were ready to be. The way Fred had fallen into fatherhood, as if it was the only thing he'd ever wanted. It was more perfect than anything I could have ever imagined my life looking like. It was almost worth dying twice to end up here.
"Hello darling," I heard Sirius say as he and Remus walked through the back door, removing their coats.
"Hi. Cutting it rather close, aren't you?" I asked, wondering if something had happened given by their late arrival and the look on Remus's face. "You look... troubled," I said as I observed the both of them.
"Full moon's this week. You know how Moony gets," Sirius whispered as he placed a kiss on my temple and walked towards the living room to join everyone else.
"I heard that," Remus said, sounding more agitated than normal. He lingered behind, using a chair to support his weight as he let out a gulf of air, taking in a moment to himself.
"Tonk's didn't come over with you?" I asked, finding it slightly strange that if they'd been spending so much time together, why they wouldn't invite her to join us.
"Where's that bouncy granddaughter of mine?" Sirius shouted from the other room.
I grabbed a stack of forks and began laying them out, one setting at a time. Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Remus watching me. "Cycle starts tonight. Is the first day still the hardest?" I asked, hoping there would be some way for me to help him.
"Yes," He answered simply, looking at the setting in front of him, leaning into the growing tension in his shoulder blades.
"Are you all set on your supply of potions? I can start brewing you another batch if you're running low?" I offered, not wanting the conversation to end.
"I'm set," He said, reaching down, adjusting a knife until it was lined up perfectly with the opposing settings. His body was stiff, and he was leaning a bit too much on one side, compared to the other, indicating that his hip was hurting.
I finished what I was doing, and looked at him straight on from the other side of the table. "Okay. What's wrong? You're officially being terse," I said, pointing out his distant demeanor, no longer appreciating what I thought this was about.
He came around to stand in front of me, pushing one of the curls that escaped my ponytail back behind my ear. "I just... I- We... wanted to talk to you about-"
"Stop," I said, grabbing his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I've never felt better," I said to him. In all honesty, things had been different this time around. When I helped Sirius, I'd felt as if it took me weeks to recover, my magic felt limited, and even the simplest of spells exhausted me.
After what I'd done for myself and Guppy, I didn't have to wait for my magic to recover. If anything it was the opposite. I felt as though I'd been riding out a high that I didn't even know was achievable. With that being the case, it just further proved my point that his concern was displaced, and he was worrying for no good reason. But I knew if I told him, it risked the chance of starting an argument. And I didn't want to fight with him at Christmas.
"Harry want's a word after dinner," Sirius said, entering the room, putting an end to our conversation. "Best to go wash up Moony," he said with an edge to his voice.
We sat around the table, nearly everyone sporting a new christmas jumper. That is, nearly everyone but Fleur, which I assumed Mrs. Weasley arranged on purpose. A bit petty, seeing as Ruby had a jumper over her dress and two spares in her nappy bag incase of any spit ups.
It was nice however to see how excited Mrs. Weasley was about the hat and gold necklace the boys had given her. All as part of their newly growing appreciation now that they had to do their own laundry.
"You are as bad as zat Tonks," Fleur said to Ron, when she had finished kissing Bill in thanks for saving her from a gravy spill Ron had almost caused. "She is always knocking —"
"I invited dear Tonks to come along today," Mrs. Weasley said, as she set down the bowl of carrots with unnecessary force all the while glaring at Fleur. "But she wouldn't come. Have you spoken to her lately, Remus?"
Fred and I exchanged a look. Though I thought it was rather obvious that Sirius and Remus were in a relationship, it was odd that she would elude to Remus having something to do with Tonk's absence. Sure, Moony and Padfoot weren't the biggest fans of PDA, but they would still put an arm over the others shoulder, holding hands from time to time. Not to mention the way they snuck a kiss under the mistletoe and would constantly look at each other as if no one had ever been as in love as they were.
"No, I haven't been in contact with anybody very much," Lupin said. "But Tonks has got her own family to go to, hasn't she?"
Again, there it was. They were speaking with a different meaning to their words. The way he sounded cold toward Tonks didn't sit right with me. Perhaps I was biased because she'd always been my friend I had a slight crush on, or maybe because not too long ago, she'd done her best to stop me from bleeding out. But I didn't care for how he spoke in the slightest, especially since this was the second time she'd been brought up tonight, and he seemed quick to dismiss her.
"Yes," I answered as I cut into my turkey. "We're her family. Or have you forgotten?" I said as I felt Fred place a hand on my leg to calm me down, and Harry give a slight nudge to my side.
My eyes moved to the baby monitor in front of me on the table as I listened to Ruby stir upstairs, where she rested in the Twins old room. It lasted a second before the fuss stopped, meaning she was still sound asleep.
As I dug back into my peas, Molly sat a bit higher in her seat, eyes fixated on the window behind us. "Arthur!" she shouted suddenly. She had risen from her chairpressing her hand over her heart and she was staring out of the kitchen window. "Arthur — it's Percy!"
"What?" He answered her with a mouth full of food while the rest of us ceased eating and looked quickly out the window. As he strode through the yard, closer to the house, it became apparent that he wasn't alone.
"Arthur, he's — he's with the Minister!" Molly added. And sure enough, the man that had been featured in many issues of The Daily Prophet, with his graying hair and long cloke, walked beside Percy with a slight limp in his steps. But before anyone could say anything further, the back door opened, revealing Percy Weasley.
"Merry Christmas, Mother." Percy said as he broke the most awkward silence the burrow had ever known.
"Oh, Percy!" Molly said and she threw herself into his arms.
Minister Scrimgeour paused just behind them in the doorway, as he leaned on his walking stick and smiled as he observed this seemingly affecting scene. "You must forgive this intrusion. Percy and I were in the vicinity — working, you know — and he couldn't resist dropping in and seeing you all," Scrimgeour said charmiling in a way that made me want to throw up.
As Percy stood, uninterested in the presence of the rest of his family, I felt Fred stiffen beside me, George mimicking his demeanor. From what Fred had mentioned to me, the last time they'd had an interaction was the night I went into labor. Percy had been the one to keep them held up at the shop, and furthered the interaction by giving Fred his broken nose.
"Come in, sit, sit. I'll fix you both a plate," Molly said gesturing for them to take a seat.
"It's quite alright. If you wouldn't mind, I'll just have a stroll around the yard while you catch up with Percy. If anybody cares to show me your charming garden," Minister Scrimgeour said perfectly rehearsed as he caught sight of Harry and I sitting next to each other. "Ah, you two look out of place and just about finished, why don't the pair of you take a stroll with me?"
My eyes shifted to look at everyone around us rather confused. "My hair is literally red," I said, pointing out the flaw in his statement, not to mention that Ginny along with the twins had clean plates, whereas mine still had a mountain of turkey and gravy.
"It's fine," Harry whispered, prompting me to wipe my mouth and set my napkin down. "It's fine," He said again to Sirius and Remus as they were half standing behind their chairs. I gave Fred a squeeze to his shoulders, letting him know I could handle myself.
We walked out to the garden, catching sight at the spot of dirt where Fred tousled with the gnome for a bit before taking it inside as a tree topper. It was Scrimgeour, walking beside us who broke the silence first.
"I've wanted to meet the two of you for a very long time now," Scrimgeour finally said, after a few moments. "Did you know that?"
"Not in the slightest," I answered, placing my hand on an ear of corn, allowing the rest of the bunch to bloom in a matter of seconds.
"Oh yes, a very long time. Especially after what happened at the ministry," He said looking between Harry and I. "A great number of cells in Azkaban are filled thanks to you, so I'm told. I'd meant to write."
"Well I prefer to keep our mailing address out of public knowledge. As you can understand why," I said as I entered the garden and reached for another plant.
"Of course. Oh, of course," He said quickly, catching his mistake. "Rumors do have a way of flying from ear to ear however. That is, rumors of you young Harry being the Chosen one, and you Miss Elodie being the beacon of dark magic," He said confidently. As if he already knew that it wasn't a rumor. It was the absolute truth. "I assume Dumbedore has already discussed all this with the two of you? About prophecies and what one should do if-"
"I'm sorry, but that is between Dumbledore and us. We're not to discuss it," Harry said quickly interrupting him.
"No, of course not," He said as we watched a gnome on the other side of the garden pull a worm as far as he could before splitting it into his hand and tearing it in half. "Funny little chaps aren't they? Manageable when caged in, but when left to their own devices," He said and clicked his tongue to his cheek. "They could become quite uncontrollable," he said as he looked at me.
"I'm sorry Minister, but what is it exactly you want?" Harry said, no longer wanting to hear his rubbish.
"If you were to be seen popping in and out of the Ministry from time to time, that would most certainly give the right impression," He said, fixing the way his hands rested on his cane. It reminded me of the way Lucius Malfoy used to stand. "And of course, while you were there, Miss Potter would have access to our training facility. One where I have the best wizards available to help you with your uncommon situation, and you Mr. Potter would have ample opportunity to speak to Gawain Robards, my successor as Head of the Auror office. Dolores Umbridge has told me that you cherish an ambition to become an Auror. Well, that could be arranged very easily. . . ."
"No," I said, feeling the anger bubble front the pit of my stomach all the way to the tips of my toes. They wanted to control me. To regulate my magic just as they did with everyone else. And they wanted to make Harry their poster boy.
"Surely Mr. Potter would like to answer for himself-"
"Forgive me Minister, but seeing as I am still listed as his legal guardian, and he is only sixteen, the answer for both of us will be 'No'" I said firmly. Wanting no association with the Ministry or their current stance in any political matters. A stance I knew for a fact Harry took no favor in either.
"So you prefer just as your mentor Dumbledore does? To disassociate yourself from the ministry?" Scrimgeour asked, slightly taken back by my abruptness.
"We don't want to be used," Harry said, agreeing with me as I exited the garden and moved to his side. Fully prepared to walk back into the house and leave Scrimgeour in the garden alone.
"Some believe it is your duty to be used by the Ministry!" Scrimgeour challenged, sticking his walking stick further into the ground firmly. His slouch disappeared for a fraction of a second as he towered over the both of us.
"And some would say it's the Ministry's job to make sure the right people are thrown into Jail," Harry challenged, not allowing himself to be belittled by this man.
"Ms. Potter, we can offer you a certain degree of protection," He offered, one step further. Trying to take work at me once again. "If I recall correctly, that was your concern after the Malfoy trial?"
"From my experience, the Ministry wouldn't care either way if we live or die. Just as long they're able to claim the Potter name as their ally, or as a trained monkey at their disposal," I said, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I for one prefer that we are alive and away from Ministry foolishness, just as the Ministry stayed away from us last year, Ministry protection nowhere in sight. And it's Mrs. Weasley-Potter, Minister. Happy Christmas," I said and turned us to head back into the house.
"Tosser," Harry said under his breath as we walked up to the back door.
"Yeah," I whispered back, still feeling the nauseous anger in the pit of my stomach, ruining any appetite I had for the puddings prepared.
Just before we reached the door, Percy slammed his way out. His face a new shade of red I didn't believe he could reach, and parsnips plastered on his face and tie. We stood still for a moment as he let out a huff and pushed his way past us.
"Tossers," we said in unison with a chuckle, just before walking into the house.
***
While I thought the interaction with Percy and the Minister would ruin the holiday for the rest of the night, it was quickly forgotten once Mrs. Weasley composed herself and entered with puddings, ready to proceed as planned. Remus, Sirius, Harry and I moved to the living room with Mr. Weasley to have 'Tea and a Chat' as he called it. Not one that began all that well as we had to explain to them exactly why Scrimgeour had asked to speak with us.
"Tosser," Sirius commented, proving further that we were more like him than we'd previously believed.
"Voldemort has chosen Draco Malfoy for a mission?" Remus questioned once Harry had offered what he'd heard between Draco and Snape. While I knew so much to be true, per Dumbledore's instructions I wasn't to discuss anything with anyone. Not even Harry.
"I know it sounds mad-" Harry began, trying to defend his train of thought.
"Has it occurred to you, Harry, that Snape was simply pretending to offer Draco help so that he could find out what he's up to?" Remus said calmly as he tried to talk Harry off the ledge.
"That's not what it sounded like," Harry challenged. I moved from the doorway and took a seat next to Mr. Weasley as I reached forward for a cup of tea, trying my best to seem nonchalant about the entirety of the situation.
"Perhaps Harry's right, Remus. I mean to make an Unbreakable Vow," Sirius said trying to side with Harry as he draped an arm over his shoulders.
"It comes down to whether or not you trust Dumbledore's judgement. Dumbledore trusts Snape. Therefore, I do," Remus said sternly, believing every word of what he was saying to be fact.
"But Dumbledore can make mistakes. He's said so himself-" Harry began, defending his point.
"You're blinded by hatred!" Remus said, swinging a firm finger Harry's way.
"I'm not" Harry quickly retorted.
"Yes, you are!" Remus said, ending the bickering. In my defence, it was nice to not be the sibling under attack for once, but part of me did feel the tightening of guilt in my chest for knowing that Harry's instincts weren't far from the truth as much as everyone wanted to believe they were.
"Remus," I said, finally stepping in to calm him. I tilted my head towards Harry and gave him a soft look, hoping he'd realize he'd made his point.
He took a breath and looked between the pair of us before once again fixing his eyes on Harry. "People are disappearing, Harry. Daily. We can only put our trust in a handful of people. If we start fighting amongst ourselves, we're doomed," He said definitely.
"We're being followed. It's not easy right now," Mr. Weasley said, breaking his silence. "We need to be able to rely on each other to keep from losing our heads."
Harry looked to Sirius, who was giving him a defeated look, as if to tell him to leave the matter alone. I knew if i spoke up now, they wouldn't understand. If I chose to break my silence now, it would only lead to another fight. One in which I was against my whole family. The best thing to do, was to hold my silence. Just a bit longer.
We rose from our seats, Mr. Weasley taking Harry out to the workshop, while Remus and Sirius began playing with Ruby once Fred walked in with her now awake and sucking on a pacie.
"Did you enjoy your first holiday little miss?" Sirius said, no longer hiding how he could easily fall into a baby speaking voice.
"The day she responds may be the happiest day of your life," Remus joked with him, easing out of his tense nature as more time went on. I knew it was hard for him. Surely he could feel the full moon tomorrow night in his bones, constantly sending waves of heightened senses through his body.
"Tired?" Fred asked at my side as he saw me cover a yawn.
"Mmm, a bit," I said and reached forward for my tea once again, trying to keep myself awake until we returned back home. "You would be too if you were helping prepare a feast in between making myself available to your daughter," I said sarcastically, watching a proud smile fall over his face. "Harry staying here tonight?" I asked Sirius to see if we'd have a full house tonight or if we'd all be a bit spread out.
"Yeah, he and Ron are having a campout," Remus answered as he lifted a bottle to Ruby and began work at getting her fed. "We'll meet you at home?" He said, fitting perfectly into place.
"Brilliant, I'll pack her things and we can just leave with you," I said as I leaned forward and stood to go grab the scattered jumpers and baby bottles from the kitchen as Fred reached for her carrier.
As I made my way back I spotted Ginny and Harry on the stairs, sharing a moment as they exchanged kind words. I felt my heart warm as I thought to myself that it was finally happening for them. I grabbed the items I needed and packed them into the baby bag, without too much of a fuss. It still astonished me a bit just how many things a tiny human could need.
"It was delicious Molly, Really!" Sirius said at the front door with such gusto one would believe he'd just eaten at the world's best five star restaurant. But given how delicious Molly's cooking was, I would have said it the same myself.
I finished what I was doing and made my way back to the front, looking up to see them at the front door. But it was beyond them what captured my attention. Almost like a meteor ripping through the sky, throughout the reed, a fire began to torch. The flames snaked and slithered encircling the house. My mind shot to the front room, had he seen it? Did he have the baby with him?
"Fred!" I shouted, instinctively, not knowing what else to say.
From the darkness Bellatrix emerged. A grim smile covering her face as Hatred filled her eyes. I looked at Harry, quickly escalating down the stairs, bolting out the front door, with me merely steps behind him as we pushed past Remus, Sirius, Molly and Arthur.
"Harry, wait!" I shouted.
"Harry, Elodie, No!" Shouted Mr. Weasley behind us as we jumped through an opening in the flames and made our way through the reed. "Elodie!" I heard once more.
The grass crunched beneath my feet. A few pieces of barley that stood tall from the ground would whip at my face as I made my way through. She was a runner. And as such we had to be as well.
"You're going to get me?" Bella teased in a hysterical laugh as she kept running and ducking behind patches of the reed that had grown taller and taller. "Haha, You coming to get me?" she snickered like a hyena, devious and psychotic. "I'm going to get you," She taunted.
I stayed close to Harry, doing my best to keep up with his pace as we kept sprinting further and further. I couldn't pay attention to how far we'd gotten from the house, or how close we were to the approaching creek. But once her taunts stopped, so did we.
Trying to keep as quiet as possible in catching our breaths as we looked every which way to find which direction she'd run off in. The wind tousled the reed in every direction, making it impossible to see what was movement from nature and what was movement from a person. It was hard not to mistake a crunch from our own feet for a crunch that could potentially be the demon witch in our proximity.
"That way," Harry whispered and began moving in the indicated direction, taking a best guess as to where she'd gone. We moved slower this time. The urgency remained, but the end result was unclear. If we went too far in one direction, we'd reach the river. If we went too far in another, we risked leading her to the road that led to Mine and Freds. That was, if she hadn't found the road already. When I turned my head to look to my left I caught sight of a dark cloaked figure before it turned in a different direction.
"Harry," I said, giving his sleeve a tung before I ran towards the direction I saw the figure move. It led to the creek, and in it, I found Ginny, standing in the ankle deep water searching in every direction.
"Shh," She said, as she looked around.
As I looked forward at a thinning spot in the reed, I squinted my eyes to force them to see through the mess of weeds and forgery as the figure moved closer. Feiner Greyback, emerging, taking in an inhale of the air around him.
"Ahh, you're going to come with us, dearie," He said as he slowly stepped closer.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted as he ran into the clearing, disarming Greyback before he flew away in a puff of black smoke.
Hearing the constant swooping, in all the directions around us, we stood, constantly shifting, moving to where the noise was heard last. They were trying to drive us crazy with confusion. Distract us with doubt. And use the wind that shook the barley to their advantage.
I tried to focus on what I could hear. I could hear the water splashing as we made our way to the tiny mound of dry land. I could hear the breath we were trying to find as our lungs did their best to recover. And I could hear a nearby crunching coming from my right, just as a blast of jinxs broke its way through the reed.
I threw my hands in front of my to try and shield us as best as I could, but with the jinxs coming from different directions, it was hard to keep it up without a singular focal point. It'd also been a fair bit of time since I'd last duled, and I was doing my best to use my magic without completely relinquishing control over to my dark magic.
"Ginny!" I heard as Arthur, Remus and Sirius pressed their back to ours to take care of different angles of attack.
"Focus," Sirius said at my side, giving me a quick look.
Wands at the ready, we were prepared, and looking in all directions, anticipating the next attack. I closed my eyes, trying my best to focus, and push out the panting breaths of the wizards around me. To push out the wind, cutting through the atmosphere, carrying Graybacks oder in every direction. Until finally, I felt my eyes shift, allowing me to see her, watching me, just a few feet in front of me.
"There," I said and threw a blast in her direction, sending the reed back in a miscalculated explosion, Bigger than I'd anticipated, but smaller than she deserved. Almost as if I wanted to push her back into the earth. But just as quickly as my curse made its way towards her, she made her way towards me. She was quicker, flying toward me in a puff of black smoke, pulling me along with her through the reed and water before I felt my feet leave the ground.
"I'm going to be the one to take you to him!" She taunted in my ear with a nasty giggle as I struggled against her hold. Trying to free my arms that she kept pinned at my sides, creating a ripping sensation erupting from my shoulder, watching jinxes fly by our heads as she kept moving us in a circle. "Stop fighting, you're going to come with me!" she said, struggle to fly with another person in her grasps.
Managing to free one of my pinned arms, I pressed my right hand against her pointy chin, and sent a flame through my palm until I felt her flesh begin to burn under my touch. Holding it there, until I heard a yelp escape her lips as she finally let me go. I watched myself fall, being pushed away from her, as she became farther and farther away, wondering when I'd feel the ground beneath me. I let out a breath, giving into the shift once again until I turned, slowing my momentum, stopping me once I was a mere inch from the water, making my fall minor than what it would have been.
"Are you alright?" Ginny asked, helping me up as I finally had a moment to catch my breath.
"Not a word to Fred," I said, pushing my wet hair out of my face and felt a wand press into my shoulder, popping my shoulder back into its socket. It wasn't a moment after our heads shot up, searching for them, that another explosion burst through the air. Only this one wasn't from a curse or a jinx on our end. It was coming from the Burrow.
"Ruby," I said, feeling my feet move beneath me without my giving them permission to. "Freddie!" I called, running faster and faster than I had before. Faster and fast, as I felt myself flying, just the same as when Bella had me in the air moments ago. Faster and faster, until I felt like all the air entering my body had one sole purpose.
Let them be okay. I begged, as I regretted the moment I had crossed the threshold to run outside. Let them be okay, I begged as I barged that if they were I'd think twice next time before chasing a psychopath. Let him be okay, I begged, because if he wasn't, I'd never be.
"Freddie!" I shouted again as I approached, breaking through the reed and running to him, crashing into his chest, feeling as if I'd crashed into a brick wall. One that completely engulfed me in it's hold, tighter and tighter.
"Are you mad?" He asked me quickly. He firmly grabbed my upper arms, frantically examining me up and down, stepping closer to George who was holding Ruby.
"I'm okay, I'm alright," I said, touched the side of his face before he wrapped me into his hold once again.
I turned to see the entirety of the burrow up in flames, not a single part of it left untouched. Burning, as if it had been turned into the mighty inferno. They'd made their point, that is, if their point was to prove just how easy it was for them to reach Harry and I. If her point was to prove I was never safe from her reach. If Voldemort's point was to prove he'd never stop.
Coming back to the conclusion I knew all too well, I admitted to myself, and only myself, that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. All I could do, was watch a home we all held sacred to our hearts, burn to the ground.