The next morning, Adam was already up and cooking breakfast by the time Ginny emerged from the area of the tent that had become her bedroom. After not getting much sleep the previous night and a long day of travelling, Ginny had gone to sleep early and woken up late. Adam himself had only been to sleep for a few hours, he wasn't confident yet that their hiding place was safe.
"Good morning," Adam said brightly as he cooked some bacon. "Did you sleep well?"
Ginny, who was wearing her dressing gown, came over to him and kissed him. "Mmm," she murmured. "Where'd you get bacon?"
"I've only been to Diagon Alley once," Adam replied, "when I sent you the Cloak, but I also took the chance to get a load of Muggle money from Gringotts. I go shopping in town."
"Oh," Ginny replied, licking her lips. "It smells brilliant… but, how did you get into your vault? The key was with me."
"Being Harry Potter does have some advantages," Adam replied grimly. Then, he grinned at her, served the bacon, and gestured to the sofa in the tent's living area. "Take a seat, my lady."
Ginny giggled, sat down on the sofa and, once the bacon sandwiches were made, Adam went over and joined her.
"So…" Ginny began, after taking a large bite of the sandwich, "now I'm here safe and sound, what's the plan?"
"Well…" Adam hesitated, putting his arm around her. "We have another four Horcruxes to find."
"You destroyed the ring the night Snape killed Dumbledore?"
Adam nodded.
"So," Ginny continued, "the locket, Hufflepuff's cup, something of Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's, and the snake."
"That's about it," Adam answered.
"Do we have any leads?" Ginny asked. "Any idea where one may be?"
"Well," Adam responded, "the night Dumbledore died, he mentioned a cave. We need to go and check that out. He was also pretty convinced that Tom was using places from his past, so we can search some of them, too."
"What sort of places?" Ginny asked.
"Well, I've been thinking about that," Adam continued. "Wait a second!"
Adam put down his plate, dashed into what he had turned into his bedroom, and rummaged in his bag. Eventually finding a piece of parchment, he returned to Ginny and handed it to her.
"This is my idea, I thought about tracing out what I knew about his life."
Ginny pushed her bacon sandwich to one side and started reading the parchment.
"So, erm…" she mused, "the orphanage, the cave, Hogwarts, the Gaunt house, the Riddle House, Borgin and Burkes, and then…" Ginny hesitated. "Oh… Adam… your house?"
"Yeah," he replied. "But there's a big gap between him leaving Borgin and Burkes and when he killed my parents."
"That was when he stopped being Tom Riddle," Ginny mused.
Adam nodded.
"So we can check out all those places then?" Ginny asked. "Well, apart from the Gaunt house, you have the one that was there."
"Well, once we can do magic, we can…" Adam began.
"Adam…" Ginny began hesitantly. "I'm not seventeen, I'm not even sixteen!"
Adam grinned at her. "I have a plan for that, we just need to go and see Ollivander, but I don't think it'll be a problem."
"Really?" Ginny asked, sounding puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"When I went to see Ollivander, he told me how the Trace works," Adam replied. "You see, every wand has a complex charm on it, so that when the wand chooses a wizard or witch, the Trace passes on to them until they are seventeen. That's the way they put the trace on children," Adam chucked. "Can you imagine wizards turning up at Muggle hospitals and putting traces on baby Muggle-borns?"
Ginny giggled at that, then she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! So I don't have the Trace on me because I'm using my grandmother's wand and it didn't choose me!"
"Exactly!" Adam said excitedly. "The Trace is on me, however, because my wand chose me."
Ginny nodded in understanding. "That's how people can escape getting the Trace on them so easily—seems like a big flaw in tracking underage magic."
"Not really," Adam replied. "I asked Ollivander about that. The Trace detects any magic done by the person that it is on and in their vicinity. They ignore it at Hogwarts and in wizarding houses as there is no way to tell the children's magic from the parents'."
"And only pureblood families would ever dream of passing wands down through the generations, and they don't monitor them anyway!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Yes!" Adam replied. "I want to go to Ollivander's anyway, he said he'd check if the charm is on you and we really should get you a new wand while we're at it."
"But then…" Ginny replied, now sounding puzzled, "I'd have the Trace on me."
"Ollivander always has some wands without the Trace on them. Apparently, once he's made several, he gets a wizard from the Ministry to come and cast the charm on them. Ollivander said he'll keep as many wands as he can for you to try. If none of them choose you then you can always use your current one."
"We don't need to worry about a new wand!" Ginny exclaimed. "My old one has always been fine. We shouldn't waste time!"
"Ginny, I want him to check you for the charm. If you do have it on you, I'd rather find out in his shop than when Death Eaters turn up here."
"Okay," Ginny replied. "Shall we go tomorrow?"
"Ginny, I think we should wait a few days, until the search for you has died down a bit. It'll be much safer."
"We can both go under the Cloak!" Ginny shot back. "You know we both just about fit; it'll be cosy," she winked at him, "but I won't mind."
Adam sighed. "I'm not sure…" he ventured. He didn't like arguing with Ginny, but he hadn't planned to go to Diagon Alley so soon, even with the Cloak.
July 14th 1997
Unsurprisingly, Ginny won the argument. Although Adam did manage to persuade her to wait until today to visit Diagon Alley, he thought it would be much quieter on a Monday.
They both travelled through Muggle London without using the Cloak. It was just so much quicker and Adam was doubtful any wizards actually used the London underground.
Once they were approaching the Leaky Cauldron, they both slipped under the Cloak, which still—just about—fit over the two of them, although Adam did have to crouch slightly so their feet could not be seen. They were forced to hang around outside the Leaky Cauldron for nearly fifteen minutes until a wizard entered the pub, allowing Adam and Ginny to slip in through the door. They made their way carefully through the pub and were able to nip straight through the wall on the other side into Diagon Alley.
Adam glanced around hesitantly, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign that they had been spotted. He could feel Ginny's head turning left and right as she too looked around the alley.
"Adam!" she exclaimed suddenly, somehow managing to still keep her voice quiet. "Our pictures!"
Moving her hand up near his face, Ginny turned him in the direction she wanted. Stuck to the window of one of the shops was what appeared to be an enlarged page from the Daily Prophet featuring both of their pictures. Well, Adam and Ginny, not Harry.
Ginny guided him over towards the shop and, as they approached, Adam squinted as he tried to read the writing below the photos.
Winters & Weasley
The Ministry of Magic has confirmed in a release to the Daily Prophet that Adam Winters and Ginevra Weasley are both wanted for the Murder of Albus Dumbledore. It has also been discovered that Winters and Weasley are working with former followers of You-Know-Who, commonly known as Death Eaters, such as Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange. New Minister of Magic Pius Thicknesse said in a statement to this paper: "The actions of these two former Hogwarts students show that anyone can turn against the lawful government of our nation. Both are to be considered dangerous and should not be approached. Any sightings should be reported directly to the Ministry of Magic."
As they read through the grim passage, Adam felt Ginny tremble against him.
"What will my parents think?" she asked in a small voice. "I'm not a Death Eater."
"They'll know you're not a Death Eater, Ginny," Adam said, trying to reassure her.
With that, the two of them continued cautiously down the street towards Ollivander's.
Once they reached the wand shop, they paused outside before slipping in as a man left. As he stepped into the shop, Adam was very relieved to see that it was empty. He guided Ginny over to the counter before pressing the bell on the countertop.
After what seemed like an eternity, Mr Ollivander shuffled into view. He stared around the shop and Adam coughed, attempting to grab his attention.
As he heard the sound of the cough, Ollivander seemed to tense. He grabbed his wand and suddenly the curtains drew over the windows of the shop and the door locked with a click.
"C-Come out," Mr Ollivander said hesitantly.
Adam pulled off the Cloak.
"Miss Weasley," Mr Ollivander saod in a thick voice. "You never came to see me. Am I to assume that those wanted signs for you are a fabrication of our Ministry?"
"Yes!" Ginny replied strongly. "You-Know-Who wants me for some reason and he's using the Ministry to get me."
"Very well," Mr Ollivander said, now speaking faster. "Let's get this over with, then you can be out of my shop. Hold out your wand arms, both of you." He then drew a strange-looking device from behind his counter and held it over both of their hands. "Very good," he replied grimly. "Mr. Potter, you have the Trace on you, but Miss Weasley does not. That makes things far easier."
"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander," Adam replied. "It does."
"Now, you also asked me to try to find a new wand for Miss Weasley." He paused. "Normally, I ensure that the wand picks the wizard, but in this case we must limit ourselves to my creations on which the Trace has not yet been applied."
Adam nodded, and ushered Ginny forward to the counter. As he watched Ginny being measured for a wand, his mind wandered back to when he had been given his wand on his first trip to Diagon Alley with Professor McGonagall.
Adam had searched desperately for a way to allow Ginny to perform magic once she met up with him. He had initially thought that he could duplicate the spell that Wormtail cast on him as a baby, but he hadn't been able to find any reference to a spell with those effects in the entire Hogwarts' library, so Adam had realised that he would have to get help.
He had taken a chance and approached Ollivander. Adam had been very apprehensive when he approached the wandmaker just over two weeks ago, but, as it turned out, he needn't have worried. When the man recognised him as Harry Potter, and he explained that Dumbledore had left him a mission, Mr Ollivander had been only too happy to help.
When Mr Ollivander had told Adam that, in all likelihood, Ginny did not have the Trace on her, it had been a huge relief. Mr Ollivander had mentioned that there were other ways to get around the Trace, but not having to worry about it would save them a massive amount of time and effort.
A gasp of excitement from Ginny disturbed Adam from his musings.
"Wow!" she exclaimed. "My old wand never felt like this!"
"Hazel with a dragon heartstring…" Mr Ollivander murmured. "A near perfect match, this wand chose you, Miss Weasley."
Adam watched as Ginny beamed as she examined her wand.
"Do…" Mr Ollivander began, slightly hesitantly, "Do you want me to keep your old wand and hide it safely amongst my stock?"
Adam looked over at Ginny and she nodded.
"Yes, please," Adam replied and then he rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a handful of Galleons. "Here is the money for the wand… and for your help." He paused. "Thank you."
Mr Ollivander merely nodded at them.
"So I can do magic now?" Ginny questioned, still gazing at her new wand.
"That wand is free of the Trace, as are you, Miss Weasley. However, it is still present on young Mr. Wi…Potter. As I cannot remove the charm once it has been applied, it will remain in effect until Mr. Potter comes of age. If you perform a spell near it…"
A bang from the window stopped Mr Ollivander and he visibly paled. Expecting an attack, Adam dashed to the door and peered out, but he couldn't see anyone in the immediate vicinity of the shop. There didn't seem to be anything that could have caused the bang.
"Go!" Mr Ollivander exclaimed. "Go before they catch you."
Adam paused. "Okay, thank you so much…"
"Just go!" Mr Ollivander repeated and he dashed over to the door, opened it and stepped outside, giving them a chance to slip out of the door unnoticed.
Throwing the Cloak over themselves, Adam and Ginny stepped back out into Diagon Alley.
As they walked back down the alley, Ginny suddenly froze, causing Adam to bump into her. He scanned their surroundings, trying to determine what had caused her sudden halt.
Suddenly Adam realised what had caused her to stop, and he reached out and squeezed her hand. She was staring directly at Fred and George's shop.
"You know we can't," Adam said in a whisper. "There'll be too many people in there."
"I know," Ginny whispered back. "I just wish I could let Mum and Dad know I'm okay."
Ginny July 21st 1997
The sound of Adam opening the flap to her room in the tent woke Ginny far earlier than she would have liked.
"Morning," he said softly. "Breakfast is ready."
Ginny sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.
"I'll be out in a minute," she replied blearily.
As she stood up and started dressing Ginny thought back over what they had achieved over the past week.
Nothing, absolutely nothing.
Adam was determined to wait until he was of age before they did anything, and Ginny was now getting thoroughly impatient. She wanted to go and at least let her family know that she was safe. More importantly, she wanted to make a start on hunting for the Horcruxes. She agreed they shouldn't attempt anything dangerous until they could both do magic, but did it really mean they couldn't do anything?
Once dressed, Ginny emerged into the living area and sat down at the table for breakfast with Adam.
Over the last week, they had come to an unspoken agreement. As usual, Adam would nearly always wake up early and make breakfast. Later on, Ginny would normally attempt to cook some sort of dinner. Neither of them were particularly accomplished chefs, so they struggled with anything fancy, but they survived.
As they munched on their breakfast in an easy silence, Ginny thought about how she was going to broach the subject of actually doing something other than sitting around in the tent. Not that they weren't able to amuse themselves sitting around in the tent together… but they weren't actually achieving anything.
"Adam," Ginny began hesitantly, "can we go to Diagon Alley again today?"
"Ginny…" Adam began hesitantly.
"I really want to go to the shop… just to let Mum and Dad know I'm okay. I'm sure I can do the disguise spells that you use… you've told me all about them."
Adam sighed.
"Please, Adam," Ginny pleaded. "I'll just nip off under the Cloak, so the Trace won't pick the spells up and I'll change my hair and cover up my freckles… Please?"
Adam sighed again and looked over at her, his expression conflicted.
"Okay," he said at length. "If you want to, let's do it."
Ginny shot out of her seat and hugged him, nearly knocking him to the floor.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, pressing a kiss onto his lips.
With the decision now made, Ginny rushed through eating and then cleaning up after breakfast.
"Okay," Ginny said, as Adam passed her the Cloak. "I'll go all the way over to the grass where we saw those kids playing…" she paused, trying to remember what the name of the Muggle sport was.
"Football," Adam supplied with a grin.
"Yes, that's it!" Ginny exclaimed. "I'll head over there and then come back?"
"Okay," Adam responded with a sigh. "But, Ginny, if you can't disguise yourself… we can't go," he finished sternly.
Ginny was about to respond when she realised that he was right. If she couldn't disguise herself, then it was just too dangerous.
With that, Ginny pulled the Cloak over her and set off towards the football pitch. She didn't know exactly how far the Trace could detect magic but the pitch was about five minutes' walk away. There's no way it can pick me up that far away!
Once she reached the pitch, Ginny found that there were already a group of boys kicking the ball around.
That sport seems so boring compared to Quidditch! Ginny thought as she crossed the grass and sat down with her back against a tree.
Once she was settled, Ginny pulled out her new wand and pointed it at her face. Then, concentrating as hard as she could, she attempted to envision her hair changing colour, and her freckles vanishing. There's no incantation, intent is everything, Adam had told her.
Nothing happened.
For ten minutes, Ginny sat there trying the spell, but still nothing happened. Finally, with a cry of impatience, Ginny chucked her wand on the ground and sat there in a huff.
Come on, Ginny! she scolded herself. Get a grip!
So, she picked her wand back up. I need to do this! I need to make sure Mum and Dad know I'm alright. I want to see my family!
She tried it again, conjuring in her mind the image of her hair changing colour and her freckles fading, but this time she felt something.
She felt a prickling sensation covering her entire face, and then a feeling that was somewhat similar to someone pouring a thick shampoo over her hair.
In excitement, Ginny grabbed at a piece of her hair and saw that it was now blonde.
"Yes!" she exclaimed in excitement. I've done it!
Ginny leapt up from her position against the tree, and practically sprinted back to the tent. Bursting in through the flap, she pulled off the Cloak and cried, "Adam! I did it! I did it!"
Adam looked up from where he was sitting on one of the chairs and grinned widely. "I still prefer red," he said with a wink, then his face took on a more serious expression. "Don't mess around with your eyes, though. I mastered the hair one pretty easily when I was practising with Dumbledore, but the eye one is tricky. I did it wrong once and ended up getting stuck with one green and one grey eye."
Ginny darted across the room and sat down on Adam's lap, hugging him. "Thanks for doing this," she said. "I know it's a risk but…"
"It's fine," Adam replied. "I understand why you want to go and," he hesitated, "it'll be nice to see the twins, even if they can't see me."
Ginny paused for a second before giving him a kiss. She was so glad they were together now.
It wasn't long before both she and Adam were ready to go. The two of them left the tent and walked back through the factory buildings towards the nearest underground station.
As Ginny boarded one of the trains, she still couldn't quite believe that Muggles had actually managed to make trains that ran under the ground. How on earth did they dig those big tunnels without magic?
Once they were within walking distance of the Leaky Cauldron, Adam slipped under the Cloak and Ginny led the way towards the wizarding pub.
They made it through the Leaky Cauldron without incident and Ginny soon found herself outside the twins' shop. She froze at the doorway, glancing apprehensively at the fairly large number of people inside. She couldn't see Fred or George.
Suddenly, she felt a set of hands on her shoulders, pushing her forward. She rolled her eyes; Adam was telling her to get a move on.
She moved slowly through the shop and approached the desk where the clerk, Verity, was currently working.
"Excuse me," she said politely, "can I speak with Mr. Weasley please?"
"Both Mr. Weasleys are currently busy," Verity replied.
"Verity," Ginny replied, letting her frustration bleed into her voice. "Please fetch Fred or George. They will want to speak to me."
Verity hesitated slightly before nodding at Ginny and disappearing into the back room.
Fred, George and Verity reappeared a few seconds later, and Ginny felt their eyes on her immediately.
"Hello," Fred replied officiously, looking at her with a funny expression. "What can we do for you?"
Ginny hesitated, forcing herself, despite how much she wanted to hug her brother, to stand still.
Ginny gestured to the door to the back room. "Can we go somewhere private?"
Fred and George looked at each other and hesitated.
"Err…" George stammered.
Ginny hesitated, she wasn't sure if the twins recognised her, but she couldn't announce her identity in the shop, someone might hear. She wracked her brain for something that would make the twins realise that it was a matter that need to be discussed in private. Suddenly, with a start, she realised she had it. It was so simple. "I'm here on behalf of your investor."
Fred and George's eyes widened and they froze.
"Yes…" Fred said hesitantly, recovering first from his surprise, and he waved towards the door.
Ginny walked through the door behind Fred and George and held the door open until she felt a soft touch on her side as Adam let her know that he had followed her.
"So…" Fred began, once she had closed the door.
"Fred!" Ginny exclaimed. "It's me!"
"What?" George questioned.
"Ginny!"
The room was silent.
"It is you!" Fred exclaimed.
"Your hair!" George exclaimed. "And where are your freckles?"
"Brother!" Fred exclaimed suddenly and the twins looked at each other for a second.
"Yes," George continued. "Prove it."
Ginny sighed in exasperation.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Adam's disembodied voice came from nowhere.
"Adam!?" Fred and George both exclaimed. "Where are you?"
"I'm invisible," Adam replied. "I better not show myself, but honestly that is Ginny," he chuckled. "I did check quite thoroughly."
Ginny wished Adam wasn't invisible right then, so she had someone to glare at.
Fred and George burst out in laughter and Ginny quickly found herself enveloped in a hug.
"It's good to see you guys!" she exclaimed.
"Ginny," Fred exclaimed as he released her. "What happened? Why did the Ministry come for you?"
"We've both been framed," Ginny said wryly. "I think the Ministry are convinced that I helped Adam with his dastardly plot."
"We knew you could never have done it, mate," George said to the invisible Adam.
"Thanks, guys," Adam replied.
"Can you show yourself, mate?" Fred asked.
Ginny froze, Adam was Harry right now.
"Better not," Adam added. "Don't want to risk not getting the spell right if we're going back out into the Alley."
"Aren't you staying?" Fred exclaimed.
"No," Ginny replied firmly. "I… I just wanted to let you know that we're alright and wondered if you could get the message discretely to Mum and Dad."
"We're pretty sure they will be watching The Burrow," Adam added.
"Ginny!" George began. "Stay here and hide upstairs, at least then you'll be safe!"
"I'm safe with Adam!" Ginny protested in response. "I'm fine, we're both fine."
"You're only fifteen!" Fred exclaimed.
So what that she was only fifteen! Adam needed her!
Suddenly the door behind them opened and Ginny spun around. There was no one there; Adam must have opened it. He must be sending her a message that it was time to go.
"I'm going now," Ginny said, softly. "Please pass the message on to Mum and Dad."
"Ginny!" the twins exclaimed together. "Please…"
With that, she turned and ran out of the back room, back through the shop and out onto Diagon Alley. Once outside, she continued down the alley, wanting to get out of view of the shop. She hoped Adam had been able to follow her, but she would have to wait until he made himself known somehow.
Ginny strode down the Alley, keeping her eyes peeled for anyone she recognised or any signs that she had been spotted. The alley was smattered with a few shoppers but, thankfully, there was no one acting suspiciously towards her. Suddenly, as she neared the end of the alley and was about to turn around, she froze. Ollivander's shop was deserted, the windows were smashed and the door appeared to be hanging off its hinges.
"Oh no," Ginny gasped quietly.
She took two paces towards the shop, when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around and grabbed at her wand, but there was nobody there.
"Adam…" she whispered.
"It's me," he said in a surprisingly husky voice. "They captured him…" Then he was silent. "…because he helped us."
"Yeah," Ginny replied, scrambling for an invisible hand to squeeze. "I don't think we should stand here for too long staring at it."
"You're right," Adam replied at length, sounding slightly dazed. "Might attract attention," he sighed. "Let's get back, then?"
Ginny nodded and then looked at the spot where she thought Adam was. "Follow me, then?"
The two of them walked back down Diagon Alley and then back out through the Leaky Cauldron. It wasn't until they were a considerable distance from the wizarding pub that Adam felt safe enough to remove the Cloak so the two of them could walk hand-in-hand back towards what had become their new home.
"Adam," Ginny ventured hesitantly as they walked along. "What now?"
Adam sighed. "I don't really know. Wait until I'm seventeen, then we can go check out the cave. Dumbledore was pretty sure there was a Horcrux there."
"Can we do anything about that before you're seventeen?" She sighed in exasperation. "It just seems like we're wasting so much time."
"I know," Adam replied as they continued walking towards the nearest of the Muggle underground train stations. "But I don't see what we can do."
"Well," Ginny began, "I think we should at least start looking into locating the cave."
"It's at some place called Ramsey Island," Adam replied. "Dumbledore told me."
"But we need to find how to get there, don't we?" Ginny replied firmly. "You've said yourself we can't Apparate there because you don't know what it looks like to visualise it, so we need to get there by Muggle means. Surely we can go and find out how we do that, so when it's time to go there, we'll already know the way."
"Yes," Adam replied, stopping in his tracks with his expression suddenly brightening. "Great idea."
"I know," Ginny replied smugly, with a small grin.
Adam chuckled in response. "I know exactly where we can go…" He paused. "When I lived on the streets…" he hesitated again, sounding a little uncomfortable about what he was saying, "…near a restaurant. There was a place that did all sorts of travel things, booked holidays, trains and buses. I bet they'll be able to tell us how to get there."
Ron July 21st 1997
Ron unenthusiastically helped his mother lay the table for the family's evening meal. Not that it felt like much of a family anymore, with only him, Mum and Dad. Since Ginny had vanished, the house had seemed empty. Mum moped around the house doing the housework, Dad continued going to work, and Ron tried to behave normally, but very little of what he normally did seemed any fun on his own. Even once the twins had moved out, he had always had Ginny and Adam around. Now it was just him.
As he was laying the table, the Floo activated and Mum bustled over to it. She held a quick conversation as Ron finished the table.
"Ron!" Mum called as the Floo deactivated. She was smiling widely. "Lay two extra places: the twins are coming for dinner tonight!"
Ron grinned in response. "Brilliant!" he replied. The twins were always a good laugh.
Ron went to the cupboard and grabbed extra plates, while Mum went back to the cooker to prepare extra food for the twins.
An hour later Ron, Fred, George and their mum were all sitting around the table waiting for Dad. He was late back again from the Ministry. Then, nearly half an hour later than normal, the Floo finally activated and Dad stepped through. He looked tired and harried.
"Hello, Weasleys," he said tiredly as he trudged towards the table.
"Oh, Arthur," Mum exclaimed and shot to her feet. "Bad day?"
"Yeah," Dad replied tiredly. "They're pushing so much new legislation through." He angrily slammed his fist down on the kitchen unit. "Making a mockery of everything we believe in."
"Oh, Arthur," Mum repeated. "Come and sit down. Is there anything we can do?"
Ron watched as his dad tiredly sank down into the chair.
"Dad…" Fred began. "There's something we need to tell you."
Suddenly the Floo flashed to life again, cutting Fred off in the middle of his sentence. The fire flared and a man stepped through. Ron recognised him instantly. It was Yaxley, the man who had come to arrest Ginny.
"Good evening, Arthur," he said smugly as he strutted across their kitchen, picked up a cake from a tray waiting on the counter and put it in his mouth.
"Who the hell are you?" George exclaimed, as both he and Fred shot to their feet and drew their wands.
"Wands away, boys," Dad said firmly. "What do you want, Yaxley? Why are you in my home?" Dad continued venomously.
"I just thought I'd pop by," Yaxley said with an evil grin. "I thought you might have overheard a conversation in the Ministry today and I just wanted you to be aware of the consequences of anyone finding out about it." He walked over to dad and poked him in the chest. "And believe me, if you tell anyone, we'll know."
"Oh," Dad replied tonelessly. "I understand about confidentiality."
"Good," Yaxley replied and then he smirked. "By the way, we're closing in on young Ginevra, I…" He gave a mock sigh. "I just hope that she isn't killed resisting arrest."
At that, the twins swore loudly and Mum gave a quiet shriek.
"You've said your bit, Yaxley," Dad spat. "Now get out."
With that, Yaxley walked over to the tray, grabbed another cake and said, "These are delicious, you know. Well," he paused, "good day."
The Floo flashed bright green again as Yaxley stepped into it and then he was gone.
"Why did you let him just waltz in here like that?" George demanded loudly.
Dad held up his hand to silence George; he then moved over to the fireplace, pointed his wand at it, and then sat back down.
"Just to make sure we aren't disturbed again," he said tiredly. "That man is the head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We're all being watched. I'm sure they have at least one man watching the house at all times. I'm monitored at the Ministry and I know our Floo and all our mail is being intercepted, and I wouldn't be surprised if the shop and Bill at Gringotts are also being watched."
Ron noticed that the twins paled slightly at this.
"For whatever reason, the new Ministry has targeted Ginny using the allegations levelled at Adam as an excuse, but they have left the rest of us alone. Yaxley is only too keen to remind me that if we put a foot wrong, we'll all end up in Azkaban…" he hesitated, "…or worse, but the only other option I can see is for all of us to just disappear… leave the country or something."
"We can't run away!" Mum exclaimed. "We can't leave, Ginny!" She paused. "Now, what was he on about… something that you overheard?"
Dad sighed. "It's their new drive on blood purity. Anyone with less than half-blood status is to be investigated to determine if they acquired their wizarding powers legitimately."
"What!" Fred, George and Mum all cried.
Oh Merlin! Ron thought in a panic. Hermione!
"What about Hermione?" Ron ventured anxiously.
"I…" Dad began hesitantly. "Her, too. She may even be treated worse, because she's friends with Adam and Ginny."
Ron put his head in his hands. Hermione was going to get thrown into Azkaban.
"We need to warn her!" he exclaimed.
"I know," Dad replied. "I will try to warn Minerva, so she can try to warn all the incoming Muggle-borns at Hogwarts."
"But if they're watching us," Fred began, "they're going to be at Hogwarts, too."
"I know," Dad replied. "I believe Minerva is also being watched, but I have to try. I don't think we can help them all, but I think we owe it to Hermione to try specifically to warn her."
Ron nodded enthusiastically, then he felt a suddenly surge of hopelessness. "I can't write to her, can I?"
"No," Dad said dejectedly. "We'll have to think of another way to warn her. I'm guessing her house isn't on the Floo network?"
Ron shook his head.
Dad sighed again. "Not that we could use that way anyway. We may just have to risk one of us Apparating there."
"Dad," Fred suddenly interrupted, "this sort of links with what we were going to tell you."
"We had a visitor at the shop today," George continued, lowering his voice. "Ginny."
"Really?" Dad exclaimed, beaming and taking Mum's hand. "How is she?"
"She seemed fine. Adam was there with her. He was invisible and Ginny had dyed her hair and covered up her freckles. We hardly recognised her," Fred continued.
"They wanted us to just tell you that they're okay," George finished. "She seemed healthy."
"Oh, thank goodness!" Mum exclaimed. "They're both alright and they're together."
Ron, despite the seriousness of the situation, couldn't help but chuckle. "Was there ever any doubt where she would go?"
The rest of the table's occupants shook their heads.
"Anyway," Fred continued, "we were thinking that if they are going to use us to keep in contact, they may be better able to warn Hermione."
"Brilliant idea, son," Dad added. "The Ministry, despite what Yaxley said, doesn't know where they are. Adam and Ginny could probably visit her, especially if you say they were able to disguise themselves and Adam was able to make himself invisible."
"But can't we do anything sooner?" Ron exclaimed. He didn't like the idea that Hermione was unaware that she was in danger.
"Ron," Dad replied, reaching over to clap him on the shoulder. "I know you want to help her, but waiting to see if Adam or Ginny make contact again is the safest way. We will warn her before Hogwarts starts again, even if I have to Apparate there myself, but at the moment they aren't actually moving against the Muggle-borns. I think they are relying on rounding the children up once they get back to Hogwarts."
"Dad," Ron said, asking the other question that was on his mind. "With all this going on, will I be going back to Hogwarts?"
"I don't know, son," Dad replied. "I just don't know."