EIGHT THE HOUSE ON THE SHORE

     Everything was a blur when Xander felt sand meet his knees as he crumpled to the ground wherever they had apparated. The sound of crashing waves met his ears as his tears dripped down his cheeks and met the sand below him. Instantly he felt arms around him and he already knew it was Diana coming to catch him the way she always did.

"We have to go back, I have to go back," Xander sobbed into the girl's arms as they sat on the sand. He had no idea where they were, but it wasn't Malfoy Manor and Xander knew he had to go back for him. Draco deserves more than to be on the losing side of the war, he needed someone to pull him out.

"Xander, you can't, you can't go back," Diana was whispering in his ear.

He stilled as he watched the waves. Dobby was standing there, but something was wrong. As a dark color began to seep through the pillowcase the house-elf was wearing, Xander realized what was happening.

It seemed like it was happening in slow motion. Harry ran out into the waves and caught the house-elf as he fell. It seemed Bellatrix had gotten the last laugh after all. Xander stayed silent as Dobby fell, not knowing what to do. His eyes flickered to the side where Ron was cradling Hermione, blood still fresh dripping down her arm. She had been carved into like stone, Xander thought it was horrific. This scene was frightening, nothing made sense and nothing was going the way it should.

"No," Diana muttered in the boy's ear as she held them, sand from the beach they were on scattering across their clothing, but that was the least of their concerns as Harry stood, a lifeless Dobby in his hands. He hadn't known Dobby long, but the elf had died for them. If it wasn't for Dobby, they'd still be locked in that basement most likely. Xander's soft tears had a new purpose.

A man came out of a house that Xander only just noticed — he was tall, red-haired, and a scar crawled down his face in an aged white. He must be a Weasley, Xander thought. Ron was the one who directed them here, so it made sense. A shorter blonde woman with soft features cursed with tension stood by his side, holding onto him tightly as they watched the scene. Harry dug a grave, time seemed to stand still. Xander wasn't sure how much time had passed, but on this beach it felt like no time at all.

"Xander, hey, come on, let's go inside. Bill's letting us stay here and lie low," Diana spoke after an elongated silence. Xander blinked up at her with no response. She didn't hesitate to tug him up off the ground and pull him into a hug, "I know, baby, I know. You don't have to tell me what happened, but I'll listen if you do."

"He," Xander wasn't even sure he would be able to say it out loud, but he forced them out as his throat ached, "He said he loves me. He loves me, but I don't know if I'm ever going to see him again."

Diana pulled away from the hug as her hands stayed still on the boy's cheeks, warmth and comfort seeping from her fingertips as she brushed a stray piece of hair out of his eyes. "If it's meant to be, then you'll see him again, darling. A war can't stop fate. Unless he's a full-blown wizard nazi, then I'm calling it and you're never seeing him again."

This broke Xander's trance as a smile etched itself onto his face, shaking his head, "If he believes in what he's fighting for, he doesn't love me. Either that or he forgot I wasn't a pure-blood."

Diana just shook her head and pulled him towards the house on the shore. Harry was still kneeling by the grave he made, but Xander chose not to disturb him. He would understand more than anyone that sometimes grieving needs to be solitary. When they entered the house, Bill, his wife, Ron, Hermione, and Luna were all surrounding the kitchen island, various mugs on the counter. Once they entered, both Diana and Xander were presented with their own mugs.

"This is a safe house, my wife Fleur and I have been lying low here since our wedding was attacked," Bill explained as he nodded for them to sit, "You guys are happy to stay as long as you like."

"Oh, Merlin, the wedding," Ron groaned, "That was so long ago now, it feels."

Bill just nodded solemnly. Xander remembers Diana mentioning something about the attack on the Weasley wedding months ago on the train platform. How long ago that feels now.

"Makes me understand why Fred just buggered off and got eloped instead of doing the whole celebration thing," the older Weasley scoffed with a small chuckle as he took a sip from his tea.

"Mum would have killed him for getting married just out of school anyway," Ron muttered, "I hope the family's okay. I spent Christmas with 'em, saddest Christmas I've ever seen. Bram makes a mean gingersnap, though."

Hermione and Luna were deadly silent as if they were contemplating quietly in their own minds. Xander understood it -- the need for quiet. His mind was racing and he knew he could hardly engage in small talk at the moment. What good was chatting about the weather when you're in the middle of a war? Not very much.

"I didn't even realize Christmas had passed," Xander mumbled before he could stop himself. As everyone's eyes landed on him, he took a careful sip of his tea before muttering, "Sorry."

Ron shook his head, "Don't be sorry, mate. 'S not like anyone was really in a celebrating mood anyway. Besides, I've heard things are a bit different at Hogwarts these days."

Xander scoffed, "Yeah, uh, you could say that. I should have never gone back."

"It's a good thing you did," Hermione spoke up for the first time, "If we need to go back there, you'll know what's going on there instead of us going into it blindly. It'll help."

"I guess to provide any help I can is really all I can ask for," the boy offered a small smile in Hermione's direction, who gave a similar expression in return. "Do we even have a plan? Or know what we're doing next?"

Bill shook his head, speaking up, "No plans for right now. Everyone needs to rest and heal. Stay here for a few nights and then we can start thinking about what to do next."

A good night's sleep sounded like the best thing in the world at the moment, so Xander had absolutely no complaints. He wasn't sure how long they sat around that island, but Harry joined them at some point. For the first time in months, Xander felt like he could finally breathe. The war wasn't over, not even close, but for just a moment, his world had paused. That was all he could ask for in times like these. Diana held him closer, scared to let him go again. He leaned into her; he was never letting go of moments like these ever again.