Harry's feet slammed onto hard ground and he fell onto his hands and knees in the yard of the Burrow. He heard screams as he stood up, swaying slightly, and saw that Mrs. Weasley and Ginny running down the steps by the back door heading straight for them. "Harry! Hagrid!" Molly called once she realised who had arrived, "what happened? Where are the others?" she asked once she got closer. "What d'you mean? Isn't anyone else back?" Harry panted, but the answer was clearly etched in Mrs. Weasley's pale face.
"They were on to us way from the start, Molly. We didn't stand a chance." Hagrid told her, trying to give her as much information that he could considering how quickly they had lost sight of the others. You could hear the self-justifying note in his voice, the plea for her to understand why he did not know what had happened to her sons. "Well, thank goodness you two are all right," Molly offered a shaky smile before pulling Harry into a hug that he didn't feel like he deserved. "Death Eaters were waiting for us. It was an ambush." Hagrid tried again as he and Molly stood away from Harry and Ginny, Mrs Weasley clearly trying to hide the distraught look on her face.
Harry turned to Ginny and she answered his unspoken plea for information at once. "The others should be back already, you and Hagrid were due to arrive just before Moody, Mikayla and Mundungus." A blue light had appeared in the sky at the boundary of their wards, it grew larger and brighter, momentarily diminishing the darkness of the night, before it completely went out. In it's place appeared Remus and George, spinning and then falling to the ground. Harry knew immediately that there was something wrong, Remus was supporting George, who was unconscious and whose face was covered in blood.
Harry ran forward and seized George's legs. Together, he and Remus carried George into the house and through the kitchen to the living room, where they laid him on the sofa. As the lamplight fell across George's head, Ginny gasped and Harry's stomach lurched, one of George's ears was missing. The side of his head and neck were drenched in wet, shockingly scarlet blood. No sooner had Mrs. Weasley bent over her son that Remus grabbed Harry by the upper arm and pushed him roughly against the fireplace, holding him there with a hand on the chest and his wand pointed at him.
Hagrid let out a shout in protest, while Ginny incredulously inquired what he was doing. "What creature sat in the corner the first time when Harry Potter visited of my office in Hogwarts?" Remus asked, his own voice shaking, "are you mad?!" Harry protested, "what creature?" Remus asked again, giving Harry a bit of a shake to tell him just how serious he was, "a Grindylow!" Harry shouted and Remus let out a relieved breath, releasing Harry and sitting down on the arm of the armchair.
"We have been betrayed. Voldemort knew you were being moved tonight. I had to make sure, you were not an imposter." Remus explained himself, before once again a blue light appeared and a sound of thunder. Remus dived for the back door, Harry leapt over Hagrid's legs and sprinted into the yard behind him, while Hagrid stepped out to block the door. Two figures had appeared in the yard, and as Harry ran toward them he realised they were Hermione, now returning to her normal appearance, and Kingsley.
"Wait!" Remus warned, blocking Harry from greeting Hermione. In sync, Remus and Kingsley pointed their wands at each other, wearyingly. "The last words Albus Dumbledore spoke to the pair of us?" Kingsley requested from Lupin, "'Harry is the best hope we have. Trust him,'" Remus answered calmly, and they both lowered their wands. "What gave you away?" Kingsley asked Harry once Remus vouched that he was the real one. "Hedwig, I think. She was trying to protect me." Harry answered just before another flash appeared to their right, Bill and Fleur coming into view on the thestral.
Seconds later, Tonks and Ron appeared behind Hermione, and she bolted over to give him a hug as Tonks continues towards Remus. "He deserves that. Brilliant he was. I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for him." Tonks tells them before she pulls Remus into a tight hug. "Really?" Hermione asks, "always the tone of surprise." Ron smirked making Hermione sigh as she pulls Harry's replica glasses off of Ron's face. Harry rushes over to pull Ron and Hermione into a hug, relieved that the both of them are okay.
Arthur and Fred arrive next, looking around at the group, "are we the last back? Where's George?" Remus frowns and looks to the floor as Arthur looks to him for answers. At Remus' grave look, Fred and Arthur rush inside, the others following behind them. Fred kneels down beside his twin, wincing at the sight of the blood on George face. "How are you feeling, Georgie?" Worry evident in his tone, "saintlike." George answers, his voice scratchy from exhaustion. Fred's eyebrows knit together, asking George to repeat what he said as he didn't understand what he meant. "Saintlike. Im holey. I'm holey, Fred, get it?" George joked, gesturing to his disfigured ear making a small smile appear on Molly's face.
Fred shakes his head in amusement, "the whole wide world of ear related humour and you go for holey. That's pathetic." Fred scolds jokingly, "reckon, I'm still better looking than you." George retorts, as Bill and Fleur enter the house after letting the thestrals return home. "Mad-Eye is dead. Mundungus took one look at Voldemort and disapparated." At the news, Fred began to scan the faces of everyone in the room before growing pale, "where's Mikayla?" He asks as he gets to his feet, to have a better look. "She was doing as Moody asked, giving us all a chance to escape." Tonks spoke up, "last we saw her, she was right behind you and Dad." Ron added, and everyone began to become worried.
"W-we didn't see her before we apparated..." Arthur told them, "we made sure to look back to see if anyone needed help, but we didn't see anyone at all." Harry rushed to his feet, "well, we've got to go back! We can't just leave her behind." He announced making his way outside, the others rushing after him in order to stop him. "It's too risky, Harry. You can't go back." Kingsley tried, "we've got to tr-" Harry was cut off by a loud cracking noise, the bright light appearing again this time in the sky, before they watch Mikayla appear at the top of the dome of the wards, falling hazardously towards the ground. Hermione quickly casting the Cushioning charm to give her a better landing.
They watched silently as Mikayla landed on her back, and seemed to be completely still. They rush over towards her, some letting out gasps as soon as they see all the blood soaking her t-shirt and the arrow that was still imbedded in her waist. Her chest was barely moving up and down, her face ghostly pale as her hair stuck to her face from the cold sweat. "Let's get her inside and patched up." Remus whispered, his voice wavering as he stared down at his unmoving goddaughter. He casts a hovering charm on her as it was too dangerous for any of them to carry her in their arms, leading them all back inside.
"Put her down here." Arthur instructs Remus after he clears the fruit bowl from the kitchen table. Hermione gently tilts Mikayla's body, so when she was lowered onto the table she would be lying on her side. Mikayla's eyebrows knit together in discomfort, letting out a painful hiss before her eyes flickered opened. She looked around at all the faces surrounding her and let out a breath of relief, "I made it." She quietly mumbled to herself, shocked at her own will power to push through the pain until she was safe. "We have to pull the arrow out before we heal you." Bill stated causing all their eyes to flicker to the wound, she was no longer bleeding, but that didn't ease their minds much.
"We should give her some Blood Replenishing potion first. By the looks of it, she's already lost a whole lot." Ron gestured to the blood soaked t-shirt surrounding the arrow. "Good thinking, Ron. Don't want her to die of blood loss before we can help her." Tonks praises while Arthur rushes to ask Molly for some potion. Mikayla pulls on Harry's sleeve as they others begin to talk amongst themselves over what's the best way to treat her. "What, are you okay? Well of course you're not okay, you've been shot with an arrow. But-" Mikayla shushes Harry's rambling, "my bag, Harry, the potions I need are in my bag."
Harry's eyes widened, rushing away from the table and making his way upstairs to grab the bag. Molly comes running into the kitchen with Arthur close behind her, "I don't have any Blood Replenishing potion left, I gave it all to George." Molly explained, her face paling as she sees what a state Mikayla is in. Mikayla's eyes widen in memory of seeing George being hit with a curse, "George! Is he okay?" Mikayla went to move before recoiling as a terrible pain shoots up her side.
"Don't worry, he's going to be alright. We can't save the ear because it was blasted off with dark magic, but it could've been a whole lot worse." Remus tells her knowing that her stressing over George's injuries will only make it worse for her. "I'm going to send a Patronus to Mum, we need an actual healer here before we do more damage than good." Tonks decides after the others couldn't think of the best course of action when removing the arrow. No one argued with her decision, and she stepped out of the room, so Mikayla wouldn't hear her plead for help and description of what terrible shape she's in.
"I've got it!" Harry hollers as he returns to the kitchen with Mikayla's bag in hand. "First Aid box." Mikayla spits out, trying to distract herself from the pain in her head, hands, waist and shoulder. Harry summons the box from the bag, opening it up to see a multitude of healing potions inside of it as well as some healing spells etched into the inside of the lid. "Don't give her anything until my Mum gets here." Tonks warns them, and if summoned by her name, the outside blue light returns and is replaced by Andromeda, who was flying a broom right up to the back door.