AN
Next chapters are in the works, also, I already set up the chapters leading up to the aftermath of the war and I really don't want this story to end. I'm feeling a little emotional, it will most likely reflect in the following chapters. Anyway, enjoy, thank you so much for reading and keeping up with the story, you are incredible!
Lots of love,
S
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They were inside.
Somehow they were inside. It hadn't been easy, between kidnapping actual people off the streets, Sarah felt unease putting a spell on Andrea Pun, getting her to lose consciousness. She was a tall and quite thin woman with sharp features that frightened Sarah the first time she saw her next to Umbridge. Her outfit was all black, black button-down shirt and a leather skirt, nothing she ever thought of wearing but she isn't going inside as Sarah McCauley but as Andrea Pun. When she took the Polyjuice Potion, she felt herself grow a few inches, with heels she was only a three inches shorter than Fred. Her hips narrowed, her limbs became much thinner and seemed to grow endlessly, her hair darkened to become thick and straight. She preferred not to look in a mirror.
The people Hermione, Harry and Ron were transformed in looked strangely alike them only about twenty years older. She could see it, Hermione and Ron working at the Ministry.
They took their clothes and dressed them in tracksuits, cheapest they could find, and once they had gotten past the less pleasant part of being flushed into a toilet, they had arrived inside the Ministry and were moving past dense crowds of people.
Fred had black hair and George's was light brown, their faces covered with concealer to hide their freckles. Fred had taken it a tad too seriously, he was unrecognizable. He looked ten years older, with black beard and sunglasses that covered his definitely remarkable eyes. Sarah almost Stunned him when she walked into the living room before they left.
George was playing the part of a reporter, he found an old camera in a drawer at the Headquarters and the idea took a life of its own from that moment. Selena was going in as herself, supposedly attending a meeting with Andrea Pun if anyone asked. They had clearly agreed not to speak to anyone unless strictly necessary.
She and Hermione had spend a handful of moments staring at the imposing statue of Muggles carved into stone, being squished between rocks. Every now and then the guards would walk determinedly towards a person and would instruct them to simply keep walking and not make a fuss. Their hearts stopped for a few seconds every time, afraid it'll be them next. That they'll see right through them or something, but so far so good.
Sarah was walking with the tensed up expression she remembered seeing on that woman's face, trying to not show how hurtful her shoes were.
George and Selena each picked up a newspaper from the lay out before the entrance and sat on some benches, simply waited and observed, several meters apart. Fred stood on the other side, glancing at Sarah every now and then, well, Sarah walking with Andrea Pun's appearance. He was terrified something will happen to her and there would be nothing he could do to stop it.
While she was following the trio towards the elevator, a man approached her. Her heart started pounding, she did her best to keep a composed face, figured the best way to remain in character would be to pretend she's the female version of Snape. And for some reason that worked. She stared at that man with contempt and it looked like he was walking past her, but he came back behind her, spoke against her ear, "Mrs Pun, could we have a word?"
She breathed in deeply and shook her head, taking a few steps away from him and turned to face him. Before she could back away from him again, he took her arm and made them walk into a closet next to them.
"I know you told me to not talk to you before I talked to Ann, but I can't stay away from you," he whispered, looking at her fiercely and Sarah suddenly wished she could disintegrate. This was not what she signed up for. Putting herself at risk and possibly getting killed yes, but getting in between a married man and his wife, no.
She didn't know what Andrea Pun's voice sounded like, she thought of Snape again while trying to concoct some sort of answer. Thankfully she thought of something just as he made to walk closer to her. she definitely didn't want him to touch her. "I had made myself clear to you-" She meant to say his name but she didn't know it, "Sir." She ended, taking a leap of faith regarding this Andrea Pun's character, hopefully it doesn't stray too far away from reality.
He looked her up and down, slowly undoing his tie, "'Sir'... such formality. I love you, Andrea. Say my name, love."
Sarah bit on her tongue as hard as she could to not gag in that moment.
She reached for the handle and shot him a dark glare, "If you think for a second I will condone your cheating, you are mistaken, sir. Go home, apologize to your wife and treat her with the respect she deserves before talking to me again. Goodbye!"
She left the room immediately after that and shot the door, letting out a loud breath of relief. Well, that happened.
She needed to get the plan back on track.
"McCauley-" Fred had been desperately searching the crowd, he saw she wasn't with the trio anymore.
"I'm good," she whispered, sent him a quick nod and continued walking, saw the elevator doors were about to close with Harry, Hermione and Ron inside, so she walked as fast as she could with her heels clicking the marble floor, "Hold the door!"
A white-haired man, it was a Death Eater named Yaxley, put his hand over the automatic doors to block them while he waited for her to join them. If she had her normal appearance, he would have recognized her. He certainly remembered how he simply stood and watched while Voldemort tortured her.
"Mrs Pun, good to see you. You are awaited with Mrs Hopkirk to assist judge Umbridge for the trial."
"Surely. Right away," said Sarah monotonically and walked inside the elevator with her back unnaturally stiff, not a single crease to her skin like she never smiled in her life, and if she did, it would be painful.
The doors closed, they each grabbed onto a handle hanging from the ceiling. "Is this some sort of Snape impression you're trying here?" asked Harry jokingly.
"Shut up," she spat back at him, but a small frown indicating he was right about his remark and she hoped it wasn't that noticeable to other people. "Where are we going?"
"To my wife's trial," said Ron warily.
The elevator flew back, causing their grip to tighten. Sarah sighed loudly, "Ron's married, Umbridge's a judge and I'm a homewrecker. This is mental."
"Homewrecker?" repeated Hermione suddenly.
"I'll tell you later."
Sarah showed them the way towards Umbridge's chambers, Harry and Ron hid in a corner, waited for the trial to start and Sarah recognized the room filled with Dementors. A cold shiver past her spine that she quickly shook off, continued making her way with Hermione through the dark hallways.
She didn't say a word, pretended to be taken aback by the case, it was simply a Muggleborn witch facing trial. Sarah thought it must be really frightening and unsettling for Hermione and Selena to be here, for a totally different reason than Harry and Sarah, so many Muggleborns fearing for their lives because they had the gift of witchcraft. Although now it must seem to them as a curse.
It was surreal, Sarah hoped the Polyjuice Potion will last long enough for them to get out of here.
"All clear," they all heard through a small earpiece Selena had purchased and set up for them. That was the way they kept an eye on what was going on outside, every now and then Fred, George and Selena would speak, taking turns. Now it was Fred's voice, and at the sound of it, a warm and calming feeling spread through Sarah head to toe, it was enough to make her keep her head up and endure being in this room again, next to that monster, looking at this frightened woman whom hadn't done anything wrong. Ron and Harry had walked in to console her, because by what she'd understood, that was Ron's wife.
"You're lying," said Umbridge, standing proudly next to her Patronus. What an evil soul she must have if she can summon a Patronus in a place and in a situation such as these. Surreal.
"Wands only choose witches and you are not a witch." The woman facing trial whimpered in her seat, burying her face into Ron's jacket, he awkwardly tapped her back and Sarah shook her head slightly, he had no idea how to act around a woman.
Harry kept walking, he didn't seem to intend to stop, he was staring at the Horcrux hanging from Umbridge's neck, like he was pulled towards it.
"Something the matter, Albert?" she asked Harry.
In a split second, Harry brandished his wand and Stunned Umbridge, Sarah didn't think about it, she reached for the Horcrux and hung it around her neck, tucked it in beneath her shirt.
"Something's wrong here," said George.
"Be ready," added Selena and from then on it was only chaos.
The Dementors were released, they chased them until they had their backs against the elevator wall. Harry, who had transformed back into his normal appearance, closed the gate and summoned his Patronus, getting the Dementors to fly back from the gates. Sarah yanked on the level and by the time they arrived back on the entrance floor, they were themselves again, except for Ron, who still had his wife, Mary, clinging to him in fright.
They walked out of the elevators and the calm only lasted five seconds, the time it took for Mary to kiss Ron. Fred, George and Selena had reached them, and for a second it seemed to good to be true. And it was indeed, because someone shouted, "It's Harry Potter!"
Everyone's eyes turned to them, there were papers with Harry's face plastered on them almost life-size, it was impossible not to know it.
A mob of guards pounded on the four of them, Yaxley ran after them, shooting all sorts of spells. Fred, George and Selena were trying to stun as many people as they could. They ran towards the fireplaces, hoping they could apparate back to Headquarters like they had planned, Sarah took Hermione's hand, each holding onto others and jumped into a fireplace, at the last minute realizing they had been followed and the plan of going back to Headquarters failed.
Before Sarah could think of another way, Hermione took charge and the next thing they knew, their backs hit a hard ground, nothing but tall trees and falling leaves above their heads.
Sarah's head was hurting a bit, but she heard an unmistakable whimper that made her jolt up, all her senses coming alive, while everyone was still trying to piece back the events.
"Ron, Ron," she hurried to his side and reached inside her little bag. She, Selena and Hermione had each a bag with an Extendible charm where they had what they needed to survive in case something like this happened. Of course, true to her Healer-self, she also packed all kinds of potions and medicine. And now she was looking at Ron's arm ripped away from his upper body. He was convulsing from the pain and shock.
"Breathe, just breathe," she ruffled through her bag but couldn't find it through all the clutter, "Accio Dittany!"
"What happened?!" yelled out Harry, everyone gathering around Sarah and Ron, Fred and George fell on their knees before their brother, watching Sarah doing her best to heal him. The flask flew out and she set drops of it over his shoulder, the wound slowly closing up and Ron managed to breathe a bit better. "He got splinched," she explained, holding back her tears from the sight of Ron suffering like that.
"I thought we were going back to Grimmauld Place," said Harry worriedly.
"We were there, we were there," sniffed Hermione, Sarah reached into her bag to hand her a tissue. After a small grateful nod, she continued, keeping a reassuring arm on Ron, "But Yaxley had a hold of me, and I was afraid he'll find out where we are, so I thought of this place but-Ron got splinched."
"Bless you and your genius, Hermione," said Sarah, pressed a kiss on the side of her head. Hermione smiled, brought Sarah into a side hug.
"I'll tend to Ron's arm."
Hermione nodded and got up from the ground, "I'll set protective enchantments."
"I'll join you," offered Selena for which Hermione was grateful for.
"What are we going to do, now?" asked Fred, looking around hopelessly at the forest. His charms had worn off, he was once again the cheeky amber-eyed, ginger-head Sarah so dearly loved.
"Seven of us is far more than what I anticipated, honestly," said Hermione between enchantments. "We won't exactly be discreet, but there's nothing we can do now. Why don't you set up the tent?"
They boys' eyes widened, "The tent?" urged Harry, standing right next to Sarah, "Where are we supposed to find a tent?"
Sarah looked up for a second and grinned, "We have a tent inside Hermione's bag."
Like they didn't believe her, Fred and George took the bag and looked inside, there was a faint clanking of tent-poles and they raised their heads to look at each other.
"Wicked."
Sarah smiled endearingly and focused solely on healing Ron, also dealing with a really concerned Harry who kept asking "What are you doing now?" every five seconds.
She bandaged his shoulder and by the time she was done, he regained consciousness and she could explain to him that he needed to keep his arm folded the way she did it so it could heal properly. She used and Aguamenti Charm to wash her hands of blood and threw away the shoes. She was thankful she was her normal self again, normal size, face, hair and everything.
They had settled down, they shock from being chased out of the Ministry had worn off, a lot of it was thanks to Fred and George who had started cracking jokes as soon as they started setting up the tent. Sarah walked back towards them, Hermione and Selena were finishing up the protective charms around them and Ron was resting with his back against a tree.
Sarah reached for her bag and started searching for a change of clothes for her and Fred, got out two pairs of jeans, jumpers and trainers. Although she noticed she still had some blood on her face and neck, and while she looked around the forest, she spotted a river not far downhill. She asked Fred to come with her so he could hold the clothes, and this way they could also bring back water.
"McCauley," he said with a smirk, "Is there any way I could convince you to wear leather more often?"
She could help a snort of laughter and looked down at the skirt, "Leave it up to you to find the opportunity to flirt in any situation."
Fred grinned and sent her a small playful wink. She handed him her shirt after taking it off, took off the Horcrux and set it on the grass. "This skirt is at least a size smaller than what I normally wear, and it's making a weird squeaking sound whenever I move." When she knelt next to the stream, they both heard the sound, "See?" she said pointedly.
"I see your point," he hummed thoughtfully then turned to her completely stoic at first, his smile shaping up in an adorable and mischievous manner, "But counter-argument, you're sexy as hell."
She splashed some water on him, "This is not the time nor the place, Weasley." She got up to take her jumper but she couldn't help a shy smile tugging at her lips.
"That's where you're wrong. Because it is always the time and the place to tell you how beautiful and fit you are," he said earnestly, a bright and gentle look in his eyes that made her heart flutter in her chest.
"Except maybe at a funeral," he added grimly, "In which case I think it would be appropriate to wait until we're back home."
She had finished getting dressed while he went on, so she reached for his change of clothes that he had set down on the grass before they descended to reach the stream. She pressed them against his chest while she kissed his cheek, "Get changed, you relentless flirt."
_
"Okay, so we've got the tent. But are we sleeping on the floor?" said Harry, looking at Hermione expectedly.
"Don't look at me like that, I packed a tent. You just packed your glasses," she retorted and got a snort from Fred, Sarah, George and Selena next to her.
"Remember when we told you we wanted to take our small clutch bags with us on this mission and begged that at least one of you carried another one?" asked Sarah, addressing all the guys but looking precisely at Harry. They all nodded in agreement. "And do you remember you telling us that you are men and men don't wear bags?"
"Yes, you smacked me across the head," mumbled Harry. "And you said that some men do wear bags, 'And I assure you, Harry, they've got more class than you'" he said the last part in a high pitched and authoritative voice, partly mocking, partly accurate.
"Godric, please tell me I don't sound like that," she leaned in to ask Fred quietly.
"Godric, please tell me I don't sound like that" repeated Harry with the same voice from before and Fred snorted, earned himself a smack against his chest and a glare from Sarah.
"You can shove off, then, Harry, I'm not telling you anything, you can sleep on the floor for all
I care."
"Loves, be nice or I'll ground you both," cautioned Selena, looking with a feigned disappointment between the two of them. "You two really bicker like siblings. Tell him where the beds are, Sarah."
"Up his-"
"No!" yelled Selena, then huffed frustratedly, "I'll assume the fault for that, I should have phrased it differently. Just give me it," she snatched the bag from her and set it on the ground. Selena pulled out the beds and set them up with Sarah, Hermione and George. Afterwards, Sarah skeptically looked over them.
"We're two short."
"That's not normal," muttered Hermione, proceeded to look for it inside her bag.
"Yeah...hm..." Fred winced, looking apologetically between all of them.
"They aren't there," said George. "We didn't know they were beds, we just saw metal bars, and-"
"What did you do?!" screamed Selena, Hermione and Sarah glaring at them.
Fred and George looked at each other for a long time, reluctantly turned to the others, their hands dug in their pockets.
George nibbled on the inside of his cheek, "Carved them and cut them..."
Fred finished, "...Pretend sword combat."
Harry, Ron and Hermione started scowling them, but Sarah and Selena simply pursed their lips, because those right there were their boyfriends and they knew exactly who they were, it wouldn't be fair to get mad at them for something so in character for them to do.
"Then I guess you both will sleep with Sarah and Selena," said Hermione, pointing at each pair.
"Why should we pay for their ideas?" argued Sarah. "No, they can sleep on the same bed, Selena and I will have our own."
"You mental? George and I won't fit in there, it's too narrow!"
"Why did you have to do sword fighting? There were brooms you could have used. Seriously, Fred," Sarah gripped onto his jumper and stared hopelessly up at him.
"I-" Fred pouted, for the first time getting second thoughts over a joke and maybe something resembling guilt for disappointing her, "I'm sorry."
It's safe to say no one, herself included, hadn't expected that from him. Her gaze softened and she released his jumper, gently set it back, "Oh," she chuckled adoringly and cupped his face, "It's- it's okay. It could have been much worse than sharing a narrow bed."
There wasn't much they could argue from that moment, they made their peace with it. For the night they sat on their beds with hot cups of tea while Sarah provided them with entertainment when she told them about the man at the Ministry. She will most likely never hear the end of it from Fred, Selena and George.
It was one moment in time, free of all the horror outside, where they laughed and felt lighter, where they didn't think of Horcruxes or Dark Lords. It hadn't happened in months.
By lights out, Sarah had curled up in Fred's arms. The nights were starting to get cold but she didn't feel it. "Good night, my love," she murmured.
Fred kissed her forehead and rested his cheek against her head, "Goodnight my love."
They fell asleep with a smile on their faces. This set up was not so bad after all. In all this madness, her sole comfort was that they were together.