CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR;

THE BATTLE OF THE SEVEN HARRYS

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Are they back yet?"

Ginny gave no reply. Cassie didn't blame her, really; she had asked the same question nearly sixteen times now. Honestly, though, did they expect Cassie to wait patiently at home while everybody else risked their lives for Harry – again? Her and Ginny had boycotted the situation by giving everyone the silent treatment before they left, but now that they were really gone, the two girls could barely hold themselves together.

"I can't believe they didn't let us go," Ginny moaned, dropping her head into her hands.

"It's ridiculous," Cassie muttered, lifting the blinds with her hand to peek out below them. She clicked her tongue. "Nothing. How long do you reckon it'll take?"

"Moody said somewhere between half to quarter of an hour," said Ginny, tapping her fingers on her knees distractedly. "How long has it been now?"

"Nearly an hour," Cassie replied, her eyes now glued to the clock on the Weasley wall that notified the current state of the family; Ron, Fred, George, Bill, and Mr. Weasley's hands were all pointed to 'mortal peril.' Cassie winced.

A few tense and silent moments passed before Ginny asked the same question again. Cassie couldn't bring herself to reply; she worried that if she opened her mouth, it would betray her by vomiting all over the Weasleys' carpet.

Finally, a lifetime later, there was a blue flash of light from behind the blinds and a loud squelching noise. The two girls stood at lightning speed and bolted out the door to see Harry and Hagrid struggling out of a crash-landed motorbike. Cassie immediately rushed over to greet them, not caring about the mud nor asking Harry a defense question to see if it really was Harry and not a Death Eater in disguise. At that point, she didn't care if he were Bellatrix Lestrange under Polyjuice – she was just glad to be able to hug him, alive and somewhat well.

She pulled away for a second to ask "What hap–?" before she was pulled back into the hug and cut off by Harry.

"They knew," he told her breathlessly. She peeled away from the hug, though kept her hands on his shoulders. "They knew I was being moved tonight. Isn't anyone back?"

   Cassie's face fell and her lower lip trembled as she shook her head. "You and Hagrid are the first."

   He broke eye contact and lowered his head a bit before continuing. "The Death Eaters were waiting for us. We were surrounded the moment we took off. I don't know what happened to anyone else, but four of them chased us, and then Voldemort caught up with us–"

   Harry stopped talking abruptly as Cassie threw her arms around his neck in a tight embrace again. "They'll be back," she whispered, the crack in her voice betraying her true colors. She squeezed her eyes shut and held onto Harry for another moment.

And then another burst of blue light tore them apart. George and Remus now stood in the spot where Hagrid had just moved his ruined motorbike from. Cassie instantly realized something was wrong; George's left side was drenched in blood and he was being heavily supported by Remus. Harry rushed over and took hold of the injured boy's legs, helping Remus carry George into the Burrow. Cassie followed quickly.

   "Merlin, what's wrong with him?" Cassie asked, though her question went ignored as Remus pinned Harry to the wall at wandpoint. Cassie made to push her godfather off of Harry, but Remus extended a hand and kept her back.

   "What creature sat in the corner of my classroom when Harry Potter visited me for the first time in his third year?" Remus raised an eyebrow and lifted his wand as Harry struggled against his grip.

   "What are you doing?" Cassie insisted, pulling at Remus's shoulder to drag him off, but he only shrugged her away. Bloody werewolf strength.

   "What creature?" he repeated.

   "A–a Grindylow!" said Harry, eyes wide and glasses askew. Remus, seemly satisfied with this answer, released Harry and put away his wand.

"We've been compromised," he said, running a hand through his thinning hair. "The Death Eaters knew we would be moving Harry tonight. I had to make sure you weren't a Death Eater in disguise."

"None or the Order would have betrayed Harry to Voldemort," said Cassie defiantly. Her mind conjured an image of a woman with sandy brown hair and twinkling blue eyes, but she quickly vanished the thought of her mother giving up Harry's safety as vengeance for losing Sirius. As much as Cassie hated Adelaide, she had to admit that her mother wouldn't do such a thing... right?

"I'd like to think so too, but somehow he knew that Harry was being moved tonight," said Remus, clearly agitated with Cassie's persistence. "We ought to–"

"Hermione and Kingsley are back!" Ginny shouted through the living room, ripping the door open and only just making it out of the way before Harry and Cassie ran her down. They bound outside and embraced Hermione, who looked shaken yet alright all the same.

"What happened to you, Remus?" Kingsley asked after having assured himself that it was really Remus and not an imposter. "Where's George?"

"He lost an ear," said Remus grimly.

"Lost an.. Merlin," breathed Hermione, clutching Cassie's elbow. "Can they fix it?"

Remus shook his head. "Doubt it. Dark Magic can't be fixed as easily – if at all."

They gravitated inside after a moment to take a pitying look at George. He was bleeding all over Mrs. Weasley's carpet, but she didn't give the stains a second glance. She was immensely focused on dealing with her son's ear. Cassie gave a soft sniffle at the sight and held a hand to her mouth. Harry reached over to take hold of her free hand, but there was a great crash from the kitchen and then Mr. Weasley's voice rang through the house.

"I'll prove who I am after I've seen my son, now back off, if you know what's good for you!" he bellowed, tearing into the living room. Fred came in just behind him, pale but uninjured.

"How is he?" Mr. Weasley asked breathlessly.

George seemed to be piqued by the sound of his father and twin's entry; he stirred and gave a soft moan. Fred gaped over the back of the couch at George, jaw slack. For what was probably the first time in his life, Fred was at a loss for words.

"How do you feel?" Mrs. Weasley asked George in a soft voice, brushing hair back from his eyes.

   "Saintlike," he replied, his voice a whisper.

   "Come again?" said Fred, kneeling by George.

   "Saintlike," he repeated, managing a half-smirk. "I'm holey, Fred. Get it? I'm holey."

   Mrs. Weasley sobbed louder than ever, but color flooded Fred's abnormally pale face. He managed a choked grin and shook his head in disbelief. Cassie watched as he dropped his head and let out a low chuckle.

"Pathetic," he told George. "Pathetic! The whole wide world of ear-related humor, and you go for 'I'm holey.'"

The minutes seeped into what Cassie was sure was years while everybody waited for the missing Order members to return. Every slight movement in the bushes or the occasional soft and impish cackle of a garden gnome had everyone reaching for their wands or darting toward the door, but it wasn't until nearly a quarter of an hour later that Ron and Tonks returned.

   "Remus!" the latter cried as she ran into his arms. He embraced her, obviously trying to keep his relief at bay. Ron stumbled up from behind Tonks and grinned at Harry, Hermione, and Cassie, before Hermione threw herself at him to lock her arms around his neck.

   "I–I thought–" she mumbled, her eyes wide. "It took too long, I thought–"

   "I'm okay," said Ron, patting her on the back. "I'm alright."

   "He was great," said Tonks admirably, breaking away from her hug with Remus. "Stunned one of the Death Eaters, right to the head–"

   "You did?" said Hermione, gazing up at Ron with her arms still around his neck.

   "Always the tone of surprise," he muttered, pulling free to now embrace Cassie. She buried her head into the crook of his neck and exhaled a breath of relief. "Are we the last back?" he asked over her head.

   "No," Ginny replied. "We're still waiting for Bill, Fleur, Mad-eye, and Mundungus. I'm going to tell Mum and Dad you're okay."

   After releasing Ron from her hug, Cassie stumbled back and paled upon the sight of a thestral riding into view. "Bill and Fleur are back," she breathed. Sure enough, when the thestral landed gracefully in front of the group, the couple slid from its back, looking windswept but otherwise fine.

   "Thank God," said Mrs. Weasley as she rushed out. "Bill, thank–"

   "Mad-eye is dead." Bill looked directly to his father as he said it, gripping Fleur's hand in his own. Tear tracks stained Fleur's cheeks and glittered in the light from the kitchen.

   There was a moment of silence. Nobody spoke, nobody moved. It wasn't until the fact that there was nobody else to wait for settled in that everybody began moving back inside the Burrow, a melancholic feeling spread amongst the lot of them.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

That night, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Cassie stayed awake much further into the night than the rest of the Burrow's inhabitants. They sat in Ron's room, a sense of pensive sadness between the four of them.

   Harry was the first to speak. "Ron, your mum knows we're not returning to school. She's not happy about it, but I think she understands that we've got to do it."

   "That reminds me," said Hermione, pulling a book bag from beneath the chair she sat in, "I... might have found something, I suppose."

   Harry and Ron were on the edges of their seats in a split second. "What'd you find?" Ron asked, nodding to her bag.

   "Well.. Oh, it really is awful, I ought to return them–"

   "Tell us," Harry urged. Hermione chewed on her bottom lip, looking as though she were having a very intense argument with herself in her mind. Finally, she relented, and let out a soft sigh.

   "I've found some books on Horcruxes," she said, glancing between the three others for approval.

   Harry and Ron were stunned into silence, so Cassie ventured, "I thought there weren't any in the library. How'd you find them?"

   Hermione cringed. "It was after Dumbledore's funeral," she said slowly, "and I was curious as to whether he had any books on Horcruxes in his office. So.. I held up my wand and did the Summoning Charm – you know, Accio – and the books came flying through my window, just like that. I really do feel awful–"

   "Bloody hell, we aren't complaining!" said Ron, letting out a shocked laugh. "You're a genius, Hermione!"

   "Have you found anything useful yet?" Cassie asked curiously, pulling her knees to her chest.

   "Loads." Hermione nodded vigorously. "I actually read that–"

   The door swung open with a crash. Mrs. Weasley stood in the doorway, hair disheveled and face contorted in rage. Cassie felt transfixed in her spot as she stared at the angry woman – she knew that Mrs. Weasley was against the thought of the four of them leaving school and had decided that she could keep them apart by assigning millions of chores to each that kept them busy all day, which, in her mind, made it impossible for them to plot their Horcrux hunting business.

   "What are you four doing up?" she insisted in a harsh whisper, glaring at the four of them in turn.

   "None of us could sleep," Ron offered, shrugging nonchalantly, yet his fear shown through the lack of color in his face.

   "Hermione, Cassie: to your room. Now!" she hissed. Cassie did not need to be told twice; she swerved under Mrs. Weasley's extended arm and left hastily to join Ginny in their shared bedroom, Hermione just on her heels.

   "She really doesn't want us going off together, does she?" Cassie whispered once they were a safe distance from Ron's bedroom. Hermione looked absolutely shaken.

   "I don't blame her, really," she intoned, before pressing a finger to her lips and prying the door to Ginny's room open. She climbed into bed, but Cassie followed and sat at Hermione's feet.

   "Cast a Muffliato," she told Hermione.

   "Can't you do it yourself? I don't quite like casting the Half-Blood Prince's spells," she said matter-of-factly.

   Cassie shook her head. "Not legal until–" She froze, the color draining from her face as the realization dawned. "November," she finished, her voice softer than even a whisper. The trace would not wear off for another four whole months, meaning the Ministry – or whoever had taken over within the timespan – could track her until then. Cassie bit her lip so hard it drew blood, but she didn't care. She looked back to Hermione, fear etched in her face.

   "I can't go," she murmured, an unwelcome feeling of anxiety pooling in her gut as the truth set in. "I can't go hunt Horcruxes with you."