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Post by Harry Potter on Jul 7, 2011 16:39:39 GMT -5
Harry sat there with a blank expression. Muriel and Dodge had just torn his world down all around him without even realizing it by saying all that they had about Dumbledore's past. He didn't get much of a chance to think and agonize over it much longer as Hermione was joining him, complaining about her feet. Harry was glad she and Ron were finally starting to realize that they cared about each other more than as just friends but at times it did make him feel rather lonely.
Hermione had barely gotten the beginning of her question about Harry's well being out when there was an interruption. The wedding guests all froze, staring at the silver lynx at the center of their festivities.
Scrimgeour is dead. The Ministry has fallen. They are coming.
For a moment after the warning, it looked as though someone had put a movie on pause. Then someone screamed and it acted as a trigger. All around people were running, terrified, for any exit they could find. Others just dissaperated as all the protective spells around the Burrow had broken.
Harry's face paled almost as much as Hermione as he looked skyward to see several dark figures zooming towards them. Death Eaters. Harry was on his feet in seconds, grabbing Hermione's outstretched hand so they wouldn't be separated. "Ron" he bellowed, scanning the mass of panicking people and the incoming death eaters for his best friend.
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Post by Hermione Granger on Jul 8, 2011 21:16:25 GMT -5
God, her feet were killing her. She had just excused herself from Ron, who had kindly offered to go get her a drink. Accepting heartily, she'd decided to go sit by Harry, who seemed to appear more than a little unnerved. Usually she'd ask what was wrong right away, but he'd been so wired lately she didn't know whether to ignore his mood, or inquire as to what was wrong. After a brief agonizing moment complaining about her now swollen feet, she gathered the courage to ask him what was wrong.
"Harry, are you alright?"
Not a moment later the voice came. Face paling, she ducked as several figures launched for them. "Harry!" She grabbed for his hand, gripping tightly when he'd finally taken hold of it. Hermione quickly realized they had zero to no time to round up Ron, whose face she couldn't yet make out in the crowd. "Ron!" Her voice was nearly a shriek, glasses shattering and tables overturning, the sound of screaming echoing loudly throughout what was once a glorious occasion.
Ron was beaming from ear to ear, completely caught up in his memories of dancing with Hermione when he'd heard the voice of Kingsley. With a giant gulp he forced his way through the crowd, grunting and yelling to try and find his two mates. "'Mione!" He yelled out, getting shoved by an older wizard before he'd apparated. "Harry!"
It only took him seconds to find them, and when they'd all joined hands he looked to Hermione, as if he was begging her to take them somewhere safe. Somewhere...anywhere but here. "Go!"
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Post by Harry Potter on Jul 9, 2011 8:11:54 GMT -5
Harry was reaching a point of panicy desperation as he and Hermione ran through the crowd clutching hands so that they wouldn't be separated. Where was Ron?? Harry drew his wand with his free hand to blast an approaching death eater away from them. Because of the polyjuice potion, the death eaters had no idea Harry was there or more of them would be targeting him and Hermione as they dashed through screaming people on their search for Ron. He was thankful for whoever's idea it was to make him change his appearance for the wedding, even if it had sounded like a silly idea at the time it was proposed. Still, he knew he had maybe minutes until it wore off and if he turned back into himself in the middle of this place, all hell would break lose...worse than it already was.
And then...there he was. Ron was fighting his way through people to get to them, yelling their names. For a brief second Harry saw a few of the nearest Death Eaters looking around quickly, trying to get a glimpse of Harry Potter as they had heard his name being shouted. Then Harry saw Ginny fighting two death eaters on her own and his stomach disolved. Before he could let go of Hermione's hand to go and help, Ron was shouting at them to go and all of a sudden everything went black, they were twisting into nothingness.
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Post by Hermione Granger on Jul 9, 2011 8:24:26 GMT -5
There was no time to even think about how stupid they had been for using Harry's name. Wtih the situation so dire, it was more important to have everyone together.
"Go!"
Ron's words echoed only for a moment as Hermione apparated them to the only place she could think of - unfortunately, she screamed and pulled on both boy's hands to jump them back as a large, double-decker bus almost ran them over. Breathing heavily, she clutched at her chest, motioning for them to follow as she started walking, holding her bag tight beside her. "I sort of expected something like this..", she breathed out and finally let go of both their hands, knowing it'd look slightly odd for the three of them to be so attached in Muggle London.
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Post by Harry Potter on Jul 9, 2011 8:36:28 GMT -5
Harry had barely had time to take a deep breath once the unpleasant sensation of apparating had ended when he was being yanked backwards, nearly off his feet, by Hermione. As the bus sped by Harry noticed the strange looks they were recieving and, although holding Hermione's hand had up until that point meant safety due to her excellent brain and quick thinking, he was glad when she released him.
Still breathing heavily, Harry walked as quickly as he could after her, inwardly berating himself. He didn't have his rucksack with him or the invisibility cloak or anything aside from his wand which was safely tucked inside his sleeve at the moment. Why had he been so unprepared? This trip could not have started out on a worse note. "What do we do now" he asked Hermione desperately.
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Post by Ron Weasley on Jul 9, 2011 8:47:08 GMT -5
Ron had, literally, yelped when the bus had almost hit him. Barely even having a moment before they'd started to walk, he started mumbling something about how buses were now "Just as bad as spiders..." With a groan he followed his friends, blushing when he'd noticed Hermione dropping his hand. It'd felt so...no, now wasn't the time to think of it. Bloody hell, they'd almost just been killed by Death Eaters...and a bus.
When Harry spoke, he nodded quickly, a nervous expression on his face. "Yeah Hermione, we can't do anything without any of our stuff." It was then when he noticed her bag however, and as small as it looked...well, she was a brilliant witch. Maybe... "Hermione," he began, slowly, "Are you already bloody packed?!"
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Post by Hermione Granger on Jul 9, 2011 8:56:51 GMT -5
Hermione almost - almost laughed when Ron yelped from the bus, but she had no real time to think of something so trivial. She thought she saw him staring at her hand when she'd let his go, but again - too trivial for thought right now. Slightly blushing she increased her speed, not wanting Harry to notice and say something, especially when he'd be completely right; someone was trying to kill them, and they needed to get safe.
At both the boy's questions, Hermione's face turned a bit redder and she smiled sheepishly. "I've been packed for weeks...just in case. Everything we were planning to pack - and more - is all here in my bag." She kept her wand near the top, not willing to pull it out just yet, because of all the Muggles. "Over here!" She grabbed them again, pulling to steer them into a small, private bathroom off the street. Yes, it was quite cramped, but they had to get their clothes changed and this was the best bet. "Change," she said sternly, throwing each of them a pair of Muggle clothes and handing Harry his robe before whipping her own clothes off.
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Post by Harry Potter on Jul 9, 2011 9:08:13 GMT -5
Harry - who was completely back to being Harry at this point, looks-wise - stared dumbfounded at her bag. "When you say everything" he began, wondering if she had also packed his rucksack, but his question was answered moments later when she ushered them into a small bathroom and reached inside the bag to produce two sets of clothes and his cloak. She couldn't have his cloak without having his bag so she must have packed it that morning. And how did it all fit into that tiny beaded bag?? Once again, and probably more than he ever had before, Harry really admired and appreciated Hermione's talents.
Harry gave Ron a fleeting look with a grin when Hermione stripped off, predicting Ron's reaction, and then retreated into a corner of the bathroom, pulled off his own clothes and hurriedly changed, leaving his dress robes behind as he wouldn't be doing anything fancy on the hunt for horcruxes. He pulled the cloak over him next, dissapearing from view.
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Post by Ron Weasley on Jul 9, 2011 9:13:36 GMT -5
Ron...stared. And stared. And continued staring, his mouth unable to form words as Hermione took all of her clothes off, not bothering to cover herself.
"Ron!" It was her voice that made him jump, his entire face and ears a deep, unmistakable red. He glanced down at himself, not sure if he'd be able to change with her right there but after he'd continued hesitating, she'd seen fit to hit him. Quickly, tearing his eyes away from her and her...fantastic - oh bloody hell - body, he put on his Muggle clothes and held his wand at his side, checking to see if the coast was clear.
Truly, it was just an excuse to leave the small bathroom, but he called back inside. "Come on guys.." He started walking, not knowing where he was going, but knowing there was no way in hell he wouldn't fall over if he stood still. Merlin's beard she was so....beautiful.
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Post by Harry Potter on Jul 9, 2011 9:19:19 GMT -5
Ron's reaction was a bit more than Harry had thought it might be and as he continued staring Harry felt himself feeling embarrassed for Ron. He was glad when the whole awkward event finished and Ron was telling them that the coast was clear. Harry, under his invisibility cloak, got out of there pronto, walking a few paces behind Ron and a few in front of Hermione so that they formed an odd looking line since no one else could see that there happened to be a person in the middle of the two visible ones.
There were very few people out at this time but this made Harry more uneasy instead of less. They needed to get some place safe. Immediately. But this was a part of muggle london that he had never visited before and he was fairly certain that Ron, who was leading, had never been here either. So he dropped back a few steps until he was next to Hermione and whispered, "Where are we going?"
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Post by Ron Weasley on Jul 9, 2011 9:31:12 GMT -5
Just starting to calm down, Ron fell back as soon as he was sure he could stand to see Hermione again without falling over. He was next to her just in time to hear Harry's comment, and looked at Hermione with a look that clearly said the same thing Harry had just asked. It was all well and good that there were few people on the street, but those 'few people' could quite easily be the ones out looking for them. "Is there anywhere here that even is safe?"
He looked round' for a moment, eyes scanning the street and his body tense, on full alert. He'd defend them all if he had to. Especially since they were his best mates. It's just, he preferred to find somewhere they could go and make a plan first.
Hermione had been looking from building to building, intent on finding something small enough that wouldn't draw attention to it. Mall - too big. Bookstore - closed. Coffee shop? She stopped and grabbed the boys, pulling them inside so fast Ron had no idea where they were until he was sitting in a booth. Some sort of restaurant?
She whispered to Harry that it would probably be okay for him to take his cloak off, as the woman in back was listening to loud music on an iPod and barely paying them any attention whatsoever. With a sigh, she sat across from Ron, so as to leave Harry room if he should decide to shed his cloak.
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Post by Harry Potter on Jul 9, 2011 9:43:21 GMT -5
Harry had barely asked the question when Hermione was yanking him and Ron inside of a small, grubby room that appeared to be some kind of coffee shop though it wasn't crowded at all...in fact, they were the only customers. Harry rubbed his shoulder, feeling as though Hermione might soon dislocate his arm if she kept up with the pulling and yanking and pushing.
He hesitated for a fraction of a second and then removed his cloak, stuffing it out of sight beneath his sweater. He dropped into a seat next to Ron, across from Hermione and took a deep, shuttering breath. Now that his initial panic was wearing off a little, he had time to think about everyone that they had left behind at the burrow and a new kind of panic washed over him. He was suddenly having problems breathing. "We should go back" he began anxiously.
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Post by Ron Weasley on Jul 9, 2011 9:55:19 GMT -5
Ron's eyes widened, and he looked at Harry as if he'd sprouted another head. "Have you lost your mind? Are you out of your nutty? You're the one they're after, and it'd do no good at all to have you going back, mate!"
As much as he would love to go back and see if his family was alright, he knew that would be a terrible danger to everyone involved. Looking down at the wooden table, he stared at the silverware for a long while, just thinking about all that had happened. He couldn't ruddy believe it - Death Eaters at Bill's wedding, because of....well, because of them.
Although it killed Hermione to say so, she went on with a quiet voice, trying to soothe Harry's fears. "He's right you know, Harry...it wouldn't do anyone any good to go back, it'd probably only make things worse." For a brief moment, her own eyes pooled with tears remembering how her parents wouldn't see her again - and if they did, they'd have no idea as to who she was. "It's best to just keep going...start our journey.."
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Post by Harry Potter on Jul 9, 2011 10:06:52 GMT -5
Harry knew what they were saying was true but he thought of Ginny and fear bubbled like acid in his stomach. If anyone was hurt or killed because of him again, he just didn't know what he would do. But he supposed that the only way to ensure that no one else was lost to the death eaters was to stop their leader. And that was their plan. They had to hunt down and destroy those horcruxes if it was...as hard as it was to think it...the last thing they did.
Harry looked up as the bored-looking, gum-chewing waitress shuffled over to take their orders. Harry knew that he wasn't going to be able to eat or drink anything at this time but it would look fishy not to get anything so he just let Ron and Hermione order and then muttered something along the lines of "same" while his mind stayed fixedly on the burrow, wondering what was happening there.
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Post by Ron Weasley on Jul 9, 2011 10:15:31 GMT -5
Not even sure what he had ordered, Ron had just said the same thing as Hermione'd said before turning to look back at his two friends. "I mean....we could try and go to the Leaky Cauldron. Stay there for a night or two and try to plan out a route or something..." He felt a bit stupid, not knowing exactly what they were looking for. Harry had most of the information, and he'd sworn he'd told him and Hermione everything he knew.
When their drinks came back, he stared at the cup with a somewhat-revolted expression. The cups looked filthy, and the liquid inside was a light brown color that reminded him strongly of dirt. "Disgusting Muggle drinks..." He ignored Hermione's glare as he pushed the cup away, smiling just a little.
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