The next two months went by in a blur and soon Ginny found herself five months pregnant. She was in better spirits these days and with the beautiful spring weather that April brought she found herself on the porch swing a lot. Kingsley had visited another few times to keep them posted but they hadn't seen him in about three weeks now. The last update they had gotten was about how George broke a rib or two and that Neville was hit with a pretty intense Cruciatus curse. As horrible as the news was to hear of their battle wounds; just hearing that they were all alive still brought a smile to all of their faces.
Ginny couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement, she remembered Kingsley saying that after these other two months went by that he would have the guys come home until they were needed again. She knew it was just a matter of time before she saw Draco walking towards her through that grassy field in the front.
"Ok Ginny dear, here are the booties I've finished." Her Mom came out holding a bunch of different ones in her hands. "I have two sets of pink and then two sets of blue this way we are prepared for two boys or two girls......or one boy one girl." she finished with a smile.
Ginny took the booties from her Mom and a bright smile spread across her face. "Thanks Mom, they are adorable."
"Of course sweetheart....now are you sure you don't want Madame Pomfrey to tell you what your having? Would help with some preparations you know?"
"No Mom, I want it to be a surprise and besides, Draco has missed out on everything, he still doesn't even know we're having twins. Soooooo.......since he seems to be getting constantly surprised I think it's only fair I'll be the one surprised this time."
"Ugh, that's my Ginny, always doing things the hard way I see." Mrs. Weasley said taking a seat beside her.
"Did Narcissa ever get the hang of it?" Ginny giggled.
"Let's just say she's not going to be making any baby clothes anytime soon." Mrs. Weasley sighed.
"I heard that." came Narcissa's voice as she joined them on the porch. "I'm going to make something one day......mark my words." she smirked putting on a giant summer hat and a pair of sunglasses and taking a seat near them.
Ginny and Mrs. Weasley gave a snicker and Narcissa looked at them.
"I will..... you'll see." she said.
They all sat there giggling for a bit more then Ginny spoke up.
"Does it hurt that bad."
"Does what hurt dear?" Molly asked.
"You know.......childbirth? I mean I've heard it's pretty intense but how bad?"
Molly looked over to Narcissa who had a surprised look on her face and then she shook her head to show she wouldn't be the one to break that news to Ginny. "I'll let your Mother handle that question" she said.
"Uh sweety you want me to be honest right?" Molly asked.
"Well of course I want you to be honest." she laughed.
"Well then it's rather a great deal of pain for sure and-
"It's fucking painful is what it is. Sorry Molly but let's not sugarcoat things. It's one of the most painful things you'll ever go through and I only gave birth to one child, I can't even imagine how your Mother had so many." Narcissa cut in.
"How helpful you were with that." Molly drawled throwing her a look.
"It's ok Mom, it's better to be blunt I suppose." Ginny said letting out a nervous breath.
"Ginny dear as hard as that part is it's so worth it in the end. Once you hold those babies in your arms......well I'll let that feeling be a surprise for you also." Molly smiled at her.
"Your Mother is right Ginny.......even after everything I went through, when I gave birth to Draco and held him in my arms that first time.......my heart just melted." Narcissa said in a reminiscent tone.
Ginny and Molly gave her a sad smile and then Narcissa quickly cleared her throat.
"But unfortunately......things changed." she said in a finalizing tone, hoping the conversation would shift.
"How about I go make us some fresh lemonade?" Molly said making her way into the house.
"Yes, I think I'll give you a hand Molly." Narcissa said quickly getting up and following her inside.
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"Did you hear from Kingsley yet?" Harry said with more anger than necessary.
"Not yet, I'm starting to think something happened at the Ministry." Bill said with some annoyance of his own.
Harry sighed and took a seat on the small cot nearby. They hadn't heard from Kingsley in about two weeks; not even a message through the charmed object Kingsley had given Bill.
"We have this last camp to hit and he still hasn't collected the memories from the last one we were at." Charlie spoke up. "How long do we wait to hear from him?"
Bill took a second to think, he was going to have to make a decision soon. "I guess lets collect the memories from Brolin tonight and then we will head home. Kingsley said this was the last one anyway and he hasn't been around to give us further orders."
They all nodded in agreement.
"Well now that we settled that, lets discuss Draco. Neville was the last person to perform the Hauriendum spell on him last week; we have nobody left in case he has another attack. If he accidentally sets off his powers he could blow our cover or worse.......kill one of us. When he's under that curse he has no control." Charlie said.
"Well, after tonight's hit we will be hopefully heading home so maybe that won't be an issue." Harry said.
"And then what? Have one of the girl's perform the spell and have them endure that?" Charlie said with a bit of anger.
"Calm down Charlie, we will figure it out." Ron said patting his brother on the back.
Charlie had been struggling with the fact that he wasn't able to save a young woman's life from the last camp they were at. He was cornered without a way to her and she was brutally murdered right in front of him. It wasn't the first time either of them had to witness something similar to that situation but this particular one hit Charlie pretty hard. They were all quite worried about Charlie and where his mind was at lately. Bill had thought numerous times about sending Charlie home because of how mentally unstable he was at the moment but didn't want him traveling alone and he needed the extra men for the mission.
"We'll figure it out? That's the best answer you can come up with?" Charlie spat.
"Well then what do you suggest Charlie?" Bill asked.
"I say we leave him behind, he can take care of himself and this way he won't be putting any of us in danger."
"WHAT?" they all yelled together.
"Charlie, its Draco your talking about, we can't leave one of our own behind." Harry said standing up and turning angry at Charlie's absurd suggestion.
"I KNOW DAMN WELL WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Charlie yelled.
"What the hell is wrong with you Charlie?" Ron asked with some concern.
"DO YOU ALL REALLY WANT SOMEONE LIKE THAT ON THIS MISSION?" Charlie hissed at them.
"Someone like what?" Draco drawled walking into the tent.
Draco knew that they were talking about; he had felt Charlie's anger towards him grow ever since the death of that girl the other night. He knew Charlie questioned why Draco hadn't used his powers to save her and thought he was holding back.
They all looked at him and Charlie stepped forward. "Someone who is a danger to us all"
"A danger? How so?" Draco argued becoming angry.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU USE YOUR POWERS WHEN IT COUNTED?" Charlie yelled with menace in his voice.
"IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT MATE, YOU KNOW THAT!" he yelled back.
"OH I BET, YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK?"
"CHARLIE STOP IT" Bill yelled.
"I THINK YOU WANTED DEAN DEAD........YOU NEVER LIKED HIM ANYWAY."
Draco couldn't stop the anger that ran through him and swung his fist at Charlie's face and then they both were throwing punches. Bill went to try and pull Charlie away and Harry tried to hold Draco back but between the anger both of them seemed to be carrying it seemed useless.
"DRACO STOP!" Harry yelled.
Charlie threw a hard punch that sent Draco staggering backwards and then Draco whipped his hand around sending out a blade of ice that Charlie tried to avoid and it ended up slicing the side of his cheek. Harry took out his wand and pointed it at Draco and Bill did the same to Charlie.
"Draco.....calm down" Harry said through clenched teeth. He didn't want Draco to end up doing something he'd regret.
Charlie touched his cheek with his hand noticing he was bleeding and looked at Draco with anger. "This is exactly what I'm talking about."
Draco shook himself free of the firm grip Ron and Neville had apparently had on him and he stormed out of the tent. Bill put his wand away and looked at Charlie, he wasn't himself and he knew he needed to get him back to some kind of normal mental state.
Harry and Ron quickly followed Draco out of the tent. "DRACO!............DRACO WAIT!" Harry yelled to him running to catch up and ran in front of him. "You know Charlie didn't mean any of that, you know he's just dealing with things in his own way."
"Oh please, don't give me that shit Potter, you know as well as I he meant every word of it and I wouldn't be surprised if Weaslebee here believed that to." he said gesturing to Ron.
Draco turned back to Harry. "Face it Potter, not a day will go by where everyone questions your poor decision to save my life over a fellow Gryffindor's. You know why you have nightmares of your friend's death? It's because you feel guilty because you have to live everyday knowing you chose a low life former Death Eater over someone who's been loyal to you from day one." he spat.
Harry just stared at him, he knew he made the right decision that night but he often wondered if the others in the group thought he did. He decided not to push Draco further and gestured for Ron to follow him back inside the tent.
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Later that night they were all getting ready to attack the camp and tensions were at an all time high. Bill called them all over to go over the plan; nobody had really spoken since the fight earlier.
"Alright listen guys, it's time to put our differences aside and do the job that's expected of us."
Draco and Charlie exchanged a look.
"George your ribs are still healing so it's probably best you stay up from our advantage point and Neville will stay with you."
George and Neville nodded.
"The rest of us are going in full force, there is just the one tent and only about ten total. You know the way this works, Brolin stays alive until I get his memories. Charlie......Draco, can I trust you both to keep your heads tonight?"
They looked at each other again and both had a look of guilt on their face; they nodded.
"Good, lets head out."
They made their way to the advantage point they had claimed as a stakeout spot and studied the camp for a few more minutes before deciding to make their way down. Ron was crouched down behind a rock beside Draco waiting for Bill to give them the go ahead.
"You know Draco; for what it's worth.........I'll never forget how many times you've risked your life for our family. I know you're a good guy and Charlie knows that to, he's just a bit mental right now........your practically family now mate."
Draco didn't look at him, but he took in his words. "How touching Weasley." he said in a sarcastic tone and then quickly made his way down to the camp at Bill's go ahead.
They all quickly and quietly made their way over to the tent which from the looks of it there wasn't much activity going on inside which meant they were probably asleep. Bill motioned for them to get ready and he swiftly entered the tent followed by the others. They all immediately spread out getting ready to send a spell at the first sign of movement. After a few moments of searching it became clear that the tent was empty, not one Death Eater inside and Bill knew they were in trouble.
"Nobody's here Bill." Ron whispered.
"It's a trap; they knew we were coming somehow."
"We need to get the fuck out of here." Draco said through clenched teeth; his eyes darting all around just waiting for the ambush.
Suddenly there was a huge blast that sent them all flying backwards into the walls of the tent and knocking the entire thing to the ground. All Draco could hear was the sound of someone yelling and one of the Death Eaters giving orders, which he assumed was Brolin. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times waiting for the ringing in his ears to subside. His face was scraped up and his hand was bleeding; he desperately looked from left to right to try and locate the others.
"You lot are a real piece of work." Brolin said with amusement. "I've had men further out in the woods way before you set up tent up there and you thought you had the upper hand." he laughed. "And you." he said grabbing Draco by the collar of his shirt and yanking him up a bit to look at him. "You have been the talk of the town....you and Potter here." he said gesturing towards Harry who was being held at knife point a few feet away.
Charlie, Bill and Ron were surrounded by Death Eaters with their wands drawn but they didn't dare make a move with Harry and Draco in the positions they were in.
"Here's what's gonna happen, we're gonna kill all your new friends here and then, we are going to hand deliver you to your good ole daddy. I bet you just miss him don't you? I think we'll take Potter here with us to as a bonus." he said throwing Draco back down to the ground and then giving him a hard kick to the stomach.
Draco desperately tried to conjure up his powers but nothing was happening and he went to get up but was still disoriented from the blast. He looked over to Harry who was in no way able to get out of his position and he cursed himself for not being able to focus right now when it mattered most.
"Alright kill these three and when you find the other two kill them as well. As for Potter he's a bit of trouble maker so break his legs or something to keep him from escaping." Brolin said gesturing to the other Death Eaters to go ahead with their orders.
A deadly spell suddenly hit the man holding Harry and then another one hit one of the Death Eaters surrounding Bill, Charlie and Ron. They all took their chance by the distraction to throw a few of their own spells and soon curses and spells were flying about. George and Neville had made their way down to them when they saw the blast and moved in quickly.
Draco quickly jumped to his feet and threw himself at Brolin making them both fall to the floor. Draco threw punch after punch to his face and then suddenly felt Brolin reach for his dagger and he quickly went to stop him when Brolin punch him hard in the ribs and threw him off of him flat on his back. This time Brolin was on top of Draco, his dagger tightly gripped in his hand as he made to plunge it into Draco's chest. Draco quickly brought his hands up and grabbed his arm to try and keep it from lowering any further. They both fought against each other's strength as the knife got lower and lower until the very tip of it was poking at his skin.
"Your Father could care less if I bring you back alive you traitor." Brolin spat as he gave another hard push causing the very tip of the dagger to pierce Draco's skin.
Draco screamed out in pain as he felt the blade cutting through him and then he saw Brolin fly off of him. He turned to see Charlie standing next to him and he quickly ran over to help him up.
"You ok mate?" he said holding his hand out.
Draco put his hand up to his chest where he was bleeding but thankfully the wound wasn't deep at all and he gave Charlie a quick nod taking his hand. Charlie pulled him up and they exchanged a quick look of truce between them and understanding. He knew Charlie realized he had no control over using his powers and it took this moment for him to remember that. Draco was moments away from a fatal wound and still hadn't conjured up his powers to save even himself.
"WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Bill yelled out deciding it was best to abort the mission.
They all went to make a run for it throwing spell after spell over their shoulders at any Death Eaters following them. They were heading to the wooded area up ahead when they heard someone scream out in pain and fall to the floor and they all whipped their heads around to find Neville on the ground. Bill ran over to him and saw a knife plunged in his side that a Death Eater had thrown.
"NEVILLE! HEY YOUR GOING TO BE OK, ALRIGHT COME ON GET UP!" Bill yelled heaving him up from the ground and quickly dragging him along.
Harry quickly shot a deadly curse at the Death Eater who was advancing on them knocking him to the ground.
"Bill we need to apparate, there's no way we are going to lose them." Charlie said putting Neville's other arm around his neck to help Bill carry him.
Bill's mind raced and tried to think of any other solution but he just nodded at Charlie and then turned to the rest of his team.
"We're not gonna be able to lose them like this so listen up. Let's apparate closer to home but not to close, we need to at least be five miles out, understand?" He quickly spoke looking around them all to see the Death Eaters gaining on them.
They all nodded and with a loud pop they were suddenly gone.
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Ginny was sitting with Narcissa and Molly in the living room after dinner watching her Mom, once again, attempt to show Narcissa how to crochet and knit. Ginny watched with a giant smile on her face as her Mom gave out clear instruction and Narcissa followed along. She looked over to Hermione and her Dad playing a game of chess while Luna watched them.
"Gosh, Hermione how are you kicking my butt in chess?" Arthur laughed.
"Well I just so happen to be married to one of the greatest Wizard's chess players." she giggled.
"Who do you think taught him?"
"Well it seems your losing your touch Mr. Weasley." she laughed taking out one of his pieces with a triumphant smirk.
They both laughed.
Ginny sat up abruptly and put her hand on her stomach and a smile stretched across her face. She was a little over five months now and had felt some solid movement the past few days.
"Narcissa hurry up come here." she gestured for her to come feel for the babies.
Everyone was able to feel some kind of movement but every time Narcissa tried she got nothing and Ginny knew it would mean a lot to her to finally get some kind of action. Narcissa quickly threw aside the knitting needles and sat down beside Ginny and placed her hand gently on her stomach.
Ginny looked at her face as she was so concentrated on trying to make sure she didn't miss out on any kind of activity going on inside her. She felt a slight movement and then saw Narcissa smile from ear to ear.
"Oh my gosh, I felt them" she said with excitement.
Molly and Arthur exchanged a loving look; it was nice to see there was more excitement these days about Ginny's pregnancy.
Ginny watched the smile suddenly fade from Narcissa's face and saw her staring out the window with fear and worry on her face. She turned to follow her gaze and felt her body completely tense up.
"MOLLY! ARTHUR! THE WARDS ARE DOWN!" Narcissa yelled.
Arthur ran over to the window and saw the dome like ward coming down. He then noticed that eerie cloud over the small town in the distance knowing that Death Eaters had finally found the untouched place. He quickly turned to the rest of them and then suddenly the lights cut out and they all took out their wands.
"Lumos" Hermione whispered.
"I want you guys to grab what you can; we need to get out of here for now. They will come here looking for anyone to take or kill its best we pretend nobody is here until they pass through." Arthur said hurrying them about to get a few things.
Ginny quickly ran upstairs to her bedroom; she grabbed a bag and threw a few things in it before quickly running back out of her room. She suddenly stopped and turned back around walking back into her bedroom. She opened one of her drawers and found the bag with the one single baby outfit Narcissa bought for her. She gave a small smile and then quickly shoved it into her bag and ran from the room.
She was running back downstairs and met Hermione and Narcissa at the bottom of the stairs when the windows were suddenly blasted in. Arthur and Molly ran out of their room where they had grabbed some last minute things when they heard the sudden noise. Arthur saw a group of Death Eaters making their way towards them.
"WE NEED TO GO NOW!" he said grabbing Molly and making their way downstairs with Luna right behind them.
They went to make a run for the front door when another blast hit the house sending them all staggering backwards.
"MOM!" Ginny yelled seeing her Mother on floor with blood running down her face.
"HERMIONE GET GINNY OUT OF HERE NOW! I NEED TO TAKE MOLLY SOMEWHERE SAFE REAL QUICK! LUNA COME WITH ME!" Arthur yelled before apparating with Molly.
Ginny wasn't able to apparate while being pregnant, at least not this far along and so Hermione grabbed her by the hand and Narcissa followed them out the back door. They ran across the back field when they were spotted and dozens of spells came flying their way. The three of them had their wands drawn and Ginny sent a Reducto charm out blasting a few of the Death Eaters backwards. More Death Eaters suddenly appeared behind them and they found themselves surrounded and then one of the Death Eaters sent out an Arretica charm causing a large net to hit Hermione sending her to the ground. Narcissa quickly ran to her side to try and help her out of it and Ginny watched in fear as the rest of them advanced closer.
Hermione finally freed herself from the net, her hair a tousled mess and a look of anger etched on her face. Narcissa was roughly grabbed by one of the men and Hermione advanced on him without thinking, dodging the spells he threw her way. She jumped on him sending him to the ground with Narcissa tightly in his grip. Hermione punched him as hard as she could in the throat causing him to let go of Narcissa and gasp for air. He quickly scrambled to his feet and pulled out a knife and swiped it through the air hoping to collide with one of them. Narcissa disarmed him of it and then Hermione sent a killing curse his way, then she picked up the knife and pocketed it.
"THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM!" Ginny yelled sending as many spells as she can think of towards the steady flow of Death Eaters heading their way.
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Arthur laid Molly down against a nearby tree of the wooded area he and Luna apparated to just outside of town. He turned to Luna who had scratches all over her face from the blast back at the house.
"Luna, stay here with Molly I need to get back to the others if I don't come back then you take Molly and you go, you go wherever you must to stay safe, do you understand?"
She nodded, her eyes watering from the fear she tried to hide.
"And please, watch over Molly" he said with worry in his eyes as he looked at his unconscious wife.
"I will, go on" she said rushing him to get back to the others in fear of what was happening to her friends.
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Narcissa had put up an advanced Protego charm around them to buy them some time to find a way out of this hopeless situation. The charm finally broke when one of the Death Eaters sent out a screeching high pitched sound that brought them all to their knees in pain. Hermione tried to fight against it but she saw her vision blurring and the piercing sound had her moments away from losing consciousness. She turned her head to Ginny and saw the spell had quite a different effect on her as she watched Ginny erupt into a mass of flames sending an explosive ball of fire to the man performing the curse.
Hermione quickly shook off the effects of the spell and grabbed Narcissa up from the ground, she turned to attempt to grab Ginny but she saw her friend's mind had turned over and went into defense mode. She watched as Ginny sent out wave after wave of explosive flames engulfing the Death Eaters around them in fire until they were nothing more than a pile of ashes.
"WE NEED TO GET AWAY FROM HER!" Narcissa yelled to Hermione.
Hermione looked around her and had nowhere to run to and then she saw a wave of fire coming at her and Narcissa. She thought of the only other place to run to and she grabbed Narcissa to follow her and they ran as fast as their feet would carry them towards the lake. Hermione could feel the flames on their heels as the blazing fire advanced on them faster than she could run. Just when she thought she was about to be swallowed by the fiery wall she dived straight into the lake feeling Narcissa hit the water beside her. She could see the orange flames dancing above the surface of the water as she sunk to the bottom upon impact.
Ginny felt the fire just emitting off of her in waves and saw it pass through the bodies of the mass amount of Death Eaters making their way towards her. She felt the ground rumble beneath her feet as flames burst from the ground around her reaching high into the sky. She pushed her hands out sending a somewhat explosive impact in every direction that she swore reached the small town in the distance. She suddenly felt herself getting dizzy and she dropped to her knees and leaned forward in the grass, her hands gripping the earth's floor for something to draw her mind back but she was only met with complete darkness.
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"NEVILLE! NEVILLE!..........HEY COME ON, COME ON....YOU HAVE TO STAY AWAKE...COME ON!" Bill screamed as he and Charlie dragged him along with them.
They were in a wooded area just outside of town and they ran as fast as they could given Neville's condition.
"St......stop.....I.....I n....need to st.....stop" Neville choked out.
Bill and Charlie stopped and laid Neville against a nearby tree. Harry, Ron, Draco and George ran back over to them to see why they were stopping.
"Neville, we can't stop, you need to keep going and more importantly you need to stay awake." Bill explained frantically.
"Nobody knows any kind of healing spells?" Charlie asked looking at all of them they all shook their heads.
"Shit, alright George stay here with Neville, let us run ahead and get help." Bill said already going into a running pace followed by the rest of them. "AND KEEP HIM AWAKE!" he called out as he and the others disappeared into the darkness of the night.
They all ran as fast as they could to try and at least get to town to try and find some kind of help until Mrs. Weasley could heal Neville enough to get him to St. Mungo's. They soon came to the edge of the woods and looked down on the small town and were shocked at the horrific scene before them.
The small peaceful town was filled with screaming people and busted buildings and fires about. They saw bodies in the street and Death Eaters raiding every home and shop they passed. It was a brutal scene to watch as people were murdered, raped and tortured right before them. All of their minds went straight to the girls and fear and worry filled them.
"WE NEED TO GET HOME NOW!" Ron yelled getting ready to make his way down to the small town.
He abruptly stopped when they heard movement behind them in the woods. They all had their wands gripped tightly and looked around for the source of the noise.
"We don't have time for this shit." Draco whispered through clenched teeth, his mind on Ginny the entire time.
A spell suddenly flew out at them all and missed Harry by a few inches. They saw a shadow quickly run past them and they immediately ran after it but with how dark it was it was hard to keep track of where they had gone. Another spell flew right passed Draco's face making him stagger backwards a bit but he quickly regained himself and ran as fast as he could towards the figure and shot a disarming charm at them knocking their wand to the floor. He saw the shadow scrambled to get behind a tree and Draco had his wand pointed out.
"SHOW YOURSELF!" he said moving slowly towards them.
"Draco?" he heard a small voice call out to him.
He looked confused and lowered his wand a bit and then saw a head with blonde hair pop out from behind the tree.
"Lovegood?" he said with surprise.
She quickly ran out from behind the tree and threw her arms around him.
"I thought you were a Death Eater." she said tears falling down her face.
The others were soon by Draco's side and Luna turned to face them, her eyes falling on Harry.
"Luna?" Harry said in disbelief.
A huge smile spread across her face and she ran over to him and threw her arms around him and cried. He tightly hugged her and buried his face in her hair not believing she was here with him right now.
"Luna what are you doing out here? Where are the others?" Draco asked frantically pulling her around to face him.
"Arthur told me to stay here with Mrs. Weasley; she was hurt back at the house when the Death Eaters attacked."
"ARE THE OTHERS ALRIGHT, WHERE'S GINNY? WHERE ARE THEY?" Draco screamed shaking her violently to try and get some answers.
"I DON'T KNOW!" she yelled freeing herself from his grip. "Arthur apparated back and-
She was cut off when they felt the ground rumbling beneath them causing them all to lose their footing and fall to the ground. Then they suddenly saw flames in the distance, almost representing an explosion and Draco knew it had to have been Ginny.
"Ginny" he whispered his face pale with the endless possibilities of what was happening back at the house. "We need to get to the others." he demanded.
"Luna, we'll be back, stay with Mrs. Weasley." Harry said giving her a tight hug before him and the others apparated back to the house.
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Hermione surfaced from the water gasping for air as soon as it was available to her. She looked around her and saw Narcissa's head emerge next to her gasping for the same thing. She turned to the field and saw the deck was on fire and there were Death Eater bodies burnt to a crisp in the field, some just a pile of ash. She saw Ginny hunched over in the field and she quickly swam over to the edge of the lake, Narcissa following suit.
"GINNY!.......GINNY!" she yelled dropping to her knees beside the redhead.
Ginny was breathing heavy, blood dripping from her nose and tears staining her face. There was ash residue all over the place and Hermione noticed some on Ginny's clothes and face and the thought of knowing it was the residue from the bodies of the Death Eaters made her stomach turn. She brought up her wet sleeve and gave Ginny's face a quick wipe and then gave her a light shake to make sure her mind was present.
"Hermione.......I'm sorry, I-
"It's fine Ginny, we need to get out of here now." She said turning to see more Death Eaters in the distance.
"Which direction do you suggest we take, they are coming from every angle?" Narcissa stated.
Hermione desperately wracked her mind for a solution; she looked around them again to see what she had to work with. She turned back to the lake and saw a thick wooded area across from it and then she looked at the two women before her.
"Looks like we're going swimming again." she said helping Ginny to her feet. "That's the only way out of her right now and we can't just stay here and let them come right to us.....come on." She said grabbing Ginny's hand and leading her down to the lake.
They made their way into the water and started swimming as fast as they could to the other side. The lake wasn't that big across but Hermione knew it would at least buy them some time and put some kind of distance between them and the Death Eaters. They swam for a good fifteen minutes until they reached a muddy bank and attempted to make their way out of the water. Ginny felt her feet sinking into the mud with every step she attempted to take and kept falling face first into the water.
"Wait....stay in the water; let me take a quick look around." Hermione whispered to them.
They both nodded and Hermione quietly climbed out of the water with her wand drawn. Her eyes immediately snapped to a few trees away where she heard movement and she ducked behind the muddy ditch placing a finger over her lips to Ginny and Narcissa for them to be quiet. She could hear the man walking closer to her and she felt her feet sliding deeper into the mud and she desperately tried to keep still.
She went to adjust her footing when she slipped and she grabbed onto the muddy wall behind and watched as her wand fell and rolled down the muddy ditch. Ginny went to make a move but Hermione quickly held her hand up to tell her to stay put. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the knife she had taken off of one of the Death Eater earlier and she listened for his footsteps. She could hear him right near her head and with a swift movement she turned around and plunged the dagger into his foot. He screamed out in and dropped to his knees to try and pull the knife out but Hermione was quicker and pulled the knife free and with a quick swipe slit his throat. He fell over into the muddy ditch and lay dead near the bank of lake.
Hermione ran over to the two of them, grabbing her wand off of the muddy floor. She wiped the blade off on her pants and then pocketed it again. She helped Ginny up over the ditch's ledge and she saw Ginny staring at the blood all over Hermione's hands and clothes. Ginny thought back to the night Hermione had brutally killed those other Death Eaters and how upset she had become but she was surprised to see Hermione had a different expression this time, it was a look of survival.
Hermione quickly searched the Death Eater's pockets and found another knife and she then pulled herself up the ditch to meet them up there. She pulled out the other dagger and handed it to Ginny.
"Take this, I know you think you may not need it now but it could end up saving your life."
Ginny nodded and then stuck it in her pocket.
"We need to find a way back to the others." Narcissa spoke up.
"We will, but we need to lie low for now until this area clears out a bit. Come on let's get out of this mud pit." she said leading the way through the thick wooded area.
Ginny didn't say much, she just followed what Hermione was saying as the prior events played out again in her mind. She was worried about her Mom and if she was ok and then her mind went to Draco and how they all would be coming home soon. The house was wrecked and engulfed in flames and she knew they would eventually see the damage and think something happened to them. She couldn't bare the thought of Draco thinking she was dead or that they could be apart for so much longer. She looked down at her mud covered clothes, she even had mud in her hair and on her face and all she could see was nothing but woods ahead. She placed her hand on her stomach as her way of comforting her unborn babies and continued following Hermione through the woods.