" but we'll take what comes
take what comes "

Ginny said nothing as she stared at the night sky, all-too aware of the hand that was inside her own. Everything felt alright in that moment, even as she was waiting to see if her brothers were still alive.

"It's them!" Hermione cried suddenly as a broom materialized above herself, Ginny, Harry, Lupin, and Hagrid.

Ginny shouted in a surprised happiness as the broom spiraled to the earth, sending its riders to the ground. Tonks hit the ground hard, but she was standing a moment later.

"Remus!" she cried, falling directly into her husband's arms. Lupin's face was white and pale, but he still caught her.

Ron staggered to where Hermione, Harry, and Ginny were standing as the couple reunited. His eyes looked murky and confused as he searched their faces. He spoke only when he saw Hermione.

"You're okay," he murmured to her.

Hermione didn't waste time with words; she jumped for him, instantly wrapping him into a hug. "I thought — I thought," she stammered into his shoulder.

Ginny grinned to herself. It was bound to happen, after all. They had been fighting for years and after last year. . .it only made sense for them to get together. No matter how many times a blushing Hermione insisted that she did not fancy Ron.

"'M all right," Ron told Hermione while rubbing her back, a small smile somehow etched onto his face. "'M fine."

With Fred, Ron, and George back, that only left Bill as Ginny's missing sibling. But if Ron wasn't dead, then Bill wouldn't be either. There was still hope.

"Ron was great," Tonks gushed. "Wonderful. Stunned one of the Death Eaters, straight to the head, and when you're aiming at a moving target from a flying broom —"

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

"Always the tone of surprise," Ron said, almost grumpily. He broke free from Hermione and looked around the lawn as if noticing it for the first time. "Are we the last back?"

"No," responded Ginny instantly, the familiar sense of anxiety washing over her. "We're still waiting for Bill and Fleur and Mad-Eye and Mundungus. I'm going to tell Mum and Dad you're okay, Ron."

Keeping her gaze determinedly away from Harry, Ginny turned on her heel and sprinted back to the house.

"Mum! Dad!" she shouted as she bounded up the steps. "Ron's back! He's fine, and so is Tonks! They're both alive and back!"

Mrs. Weasley released a happy cry, and stood up from her spot beside George. She hugged Ginny tightly.

"Where is he?" she asked. "Oh, never mind, I'm being silly. Arthur, are you coming with us?"

Following her parents out of the house, Ginny returned back to the lawn, the fresh air rushing through her hair as Mr and Mrs. Weasley cried in relief as they saw Ron. They hugged him, oblivious to Ginny laughing at the uncomfortable look on her brother's face.

"Thank you," Mrs. Weasley said to Tonks and Lupin after releasing Ron. "For our sons."

"Don't be silly, Molly," responded Tonks, a slight blush blooming on her cheeks.

"How's George?" asked Lupin, as if sensing that his wife was uncomfortable.

"What's wrong with him?" Ron demanded, whirling to face Mrs. Weasley.

"He's lost —"

But the rest of her sentence was lost as a thestral carrying Bill and Fleur landed on the ground. Ginny released a breath she hadn't known that she was holding as they slid to the ground, both of them unhurt.

"Bill! Thank God, thank God —" Mrs. Weasley cried out. Bill allowed her to hug him, but he soon broke away.

Ginny knew something was wrong; the look on his face was identical to the one he wore whenever he had bad news.

"Mad-Eye's dead," was all Bill said.

A stunned silence followed his words. They didn't make sense; Mad-Eye, the Auror who had captured dozens of Death Eaters and survived, the man who had lost an eye and a leg, was dead?

"We saw it," Bill continued, Fleur nodding beside him. "It happened just after we broke out of the circle: Mad-Eye and Dung were close by us, they were heading north too. Voldemort — he can fly — went straight for them. Dung panicked, I heard him cry out, Mad-Eye tried to stop him, but he Disapparated. Voldemort's curse hit Mad-Eye full in the face, he fell backward off his broom and — there was nothing we could do, nothing, we had half a dozen of them on our own tail —"

Bill's voice broke off as his eyes shined. Fleur took his hand, and pressed it to her lips.

"Of course you couldn't have done anything," Lupin said understandingly.

And then, silence. Ginny stood alone, feeling very isolated as everyone had their groups: her parents, Bill and Fleur, Lupin and Tonks (who was silently crying into a handkerchief), and Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Somehow, amidst her family and friends, Ginny had never felt more alone.

Then, moving like a single unit, they all turned to walk to the house, Ginny trailing behind. Inside, George and Fred were laughing loudly together, but it stopped as they noticed the solemn masks everyone wore. Ginny slid to the wall and pressed her eyes close as she leaned against it. She was tired, so tired.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked uncertainly. "What's happened? Who's —?"

"Mad-Eye," responded Mr. Weasley, and Ginny opened her eyes at the reminder. "Dead."

"Here," Bill said, pulling out a bottle of firewhiskey and glasses from a cabinet. He sent the glasses floating to each person. Ginny plucked hers out of the air, glad to feel the cold glass against her skin. She was glad to feel anything.

"Mad-Eye," Bill said with his glass in the air.

"Mad-Eye," they echoed back.

Ginny drank her glass in a single sip, the firewhiskey burning her throat the whole way down. She relished the liquid courage running down her throat.

"So Mundungus disappeared?" Lupin asked after draining his glass.

"I know what you're thinking," said Bill almost warily, "and I wondered that too, on the way back here, because they seemed to be expecting us, didn't they? But Mundungus can't have betrayed us. They didn't know there would be seven Harrys, that confused them the moment we appeared, and in case you've forgotten, it was Mundungus who suggested that little bit of skullduggery. Why wouldn't he have told them the essential point? I think Dung panicked, it's as simple as that. He didn't want to come in the first place, but Mad-Eye made him, and You-Know-Who went straight for them. It was enough to make anyone panic."

"You-Know-Who acted exactly as Mad-Eye expected him to," Tonks added while wiping at her eyes. "Mad-Eye said he'd expect the real Harry to be with the toughest, most skilled Aurors. He chased Mad-Eye first, and when Mundungus gave them away he switched to Kingsley. . ."

"Yes, and zat eez all very good," Fleur interjected, a fiery fury ignited on her beautiful face, "but still eet does not explain 'ow zey knew we were moving 'Arry tonight, does eet? Somebody must 'ave been careless. Somebody let slip ze date but not ze 'ole plan."

With tears still staining her face, she glared at each person standing in the room. When her gaze met Ginny's, Ginny glared right back. None of them would let anything slip, Ginny knew that. Not even Hagrid. Not over something as important as this.

"No," said Harry loudly. "I mean. . .if somebody made a mistake and let something slip, I know they didn't mean to do it. It's not their fault. We've got to trust each other." Somehow, his eyes found Ginny. "I trust all of you, I don't think anyone in this room would ever sell me to Voldemort."

Silence followed his declaration, and Harry took an uncertain swig of firewhiskey.

"Well said, Harry," Fred said suddenly.

"Yeah, 'ear, 'ear," George said, causing a grin to grow on Fred's face.

But Harry was studying Lupin. Ginny followed his gaze, and found Lupin staring at Harry with a pitying expression.

"You think I'm a fool?" Harry asked hotly.

"No," responded Lupin almost sadly, "I think you're like James, who would have regarded it as the height of dishonor to mistrust his friends."

Ginny's stomach squirmed; she was with Harry. No one here would have betrayed him, and she didn't even want to think about who it might be. They were her friends and family, and they weren't traitors.

"There's work to do," Lupin said, this time to Bill, apparently ignoring the look of fury on Harry's face. "I can ask Kingsley whether —"

"No," interrupted Bill. "I'll do it, I'll come."

"Where are you going?" asked Fleur and Tonks at the same time. The two women exchanged a glance.

"Mad-Eye's body. We need to recover it," explained Lupin.

"Can't it —" Mrs. Weasley started to day.

"Wait?" finished Bill with a shake of his head. "Not unless you'd rather the Death Eaters took it?"

Silence. Lupin and Bill took that as a cue to say goodbye and leave.

Ginny collapsed on a chair, tucking her legs beneath her. She rested her chin on her hand. She was so tired and ready for this day to be over. Everyone else followed suit, sinking into the closest couch or chair.

Everyone, that is, except Harry.

"I've got to go too," Harry announced.

"Don't be silly, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley while staring at him with concern in her brown gaze. "What are you talking about?"

But Ginny knew. His stupid tendency to take the blame for everything was taking control again, and he wanted to leave to protect everyone. The same reason he broke up with Ginny, really. She glared at Harry, but he seemed to be steadily avoiding her gaze.

"I can't stay here," he said while rubbing his forehead, his scar doubtlessly burning. "You're all in danger while I'm here. I don't want —"

"But don't be so silly!" interjected Mrs. Weasley. "The whole point of tonight was to get you here safely, and thank goodness it worked. And Fleur's agreed to get married her rather than in France, we've arranged everything so that we can all stay together and look after you!"

"If Voldemort finds out I'm here —" Harry started to say.

"But why should he?" demanded Mrs. Weasley.

"There are a dozen places you might be now, Harry," Mr. Weasley added. "He's got no way knowing which safe house you're in."

"It's not me I'm worried for!" Harry shouted.

"We know that, but it would make our efforts tonight seem rather pointless if you left," Mr. Weasley said, his soft voice juxtaposing Harry's loud one.

"Yer not goin' anywhere," added a drunken Hagrid. "Blimey, Harry, after all we wen' through ter get you here?"

"Yeah, what about my bleeding ear?" asked George.

"I know that —"

Ginny said, "Mad-Eye wouldn't want —"

"I KNOW!" Harry shouted.

Ginny fell silent instantly, as did the rest of the room. She stared at Harry, and was reminded of him two summers ago, when he communicated only in angst-ridden shouting matches. Since then, what had changed? Other than the deaths and sacrifices made, everything was the same.

And at the same time, everything had changed.

"Where's Hedwig, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked kindly. "We can put her up with Pigwidgeon and give her something to eat."

Harry drank the rest of his firewhiskey, remaining silent.

"Wait till it gets out yeh did it again, Harry," Hagrid said, holding up his bottle of brandy. "Escaped him, fought him off when he was right on top of yeh!"

"It wasn't me," said Harry dully. "It was my wand. My wand acted of its own accord."

Ginny rolled her eyes. Would it kill him to take credit for once?

"But that's impossible, Harry," Hermione said softly. "You mean you did magic without meaning to; you acted instinctively."

"No," insisted Harry. "The bike was falling. I couldn't have told you where Voldemort was, but my wand spun in my hand and found him and shot a spell at him, and it wasn't even a spell I recognized. I've never made gold flames appear before."

Ginny peered at Harry. He seemed to be believing everything that he was saying, but it was impossible. Wands couldn't create magic without an owner directing them. Wanda weren't sentient objects.

"Often, when you're in a pressured situation, you can produce magic you've never dreamed of," Mr. Weasley said kindly. "Small children often find, before they're trained —"

"It wasn't like that," growled Harry. He set down his glass and stormed out of the room.

Silence followed his dramatic exit, and Ginny released a sigh.

"He seems a bit off today, haven't you noticed?" she drawled sarcastically. Identical grins from Fred and George greeted her words. "Ron? Hermione? I'd go after him, if I were you."

The two exchanged a glance before silently standing up and following the path Harry had just taken.

Ginny closed her eyes and rested against the side of her chair. Ron and Hermione would be able to lure Harry back into the house; they were his best friends. Ginny was something else, something that didn't quite fit anywhere. She doubted that Harry wanted to talk to her.

So she stayed inside, half-listening to the murmuring whispers from the adults. And a part of Ginny wondered how they were all going to survive this war.