Hi everyone. Thanks so much for reading this far! Hope you liked it. This is the end of part one.

There will be a part two! I'll mark this as completed for now, but part two will be uploaded here as well.

I would love to thank everyone who voted & commented, especially those who commented on every chapter! Your comments kept me writing, so thank you!

Chapter Twenty Three: End of Part One

A dinner roll hit me in the face. "What was that for?" I said snapping out of my daze and looking across the table at Charlie who smirked. The year was nearly over. Finals were just around the corner and everyone was getting ready to go home. I had no idea what I was going to do since I haven't heard from my father in weeks. I confessed my worries to Idella and Charlie and they both offered to let me stay with them. Selina didn't seem too pleased to go home either. First of all, Cole completely disappeared with a very nice WANTED ad for him in the USA Daily Prophet. Second, it was possible her parents would actually kill her for the 'embarrassment' she put them through considering she got a nice page in the Daily Prophet as well. On the plus side, my seventeenth birthday finally happened and I passed my apparition exam.

"You're staring off into the distance at Kent," Charlie said.

"No I'm not," I replied shaking my head. "How would you even know that you're backs towards Agrethance?"

"It's obvious," he answered laughing.

Before I could say no Idella cut in from next to me and said, "Yes you were. He's doing the same to you." I rolled my eyes and continued eating. The feast felt strange tonight. Normally Headmaster Elwood was present at every feast, but tonight his seat was empty. I couldn't help but wonder what happened. Not long after that my question was answered. The large french doors swung open as Headmaster Elwood stepped into the room. Everyone noticed he was missing, so every head turned in his direction. Usually his face was serious and wise, but all I saw was sadness. Hopelessness. Fear. The entire room fell silent.

I looked over at the teachers to see their reactions, but it seemed as if they had no clue what was going on either. All seemed confused. Headmaster Elwood crossed the room with his silver robes dragging behind him. Silence. He stepped up to the podium and slowly turned to face us. "I have some devastating news," he quietly said while looking out at the room. The tone of despair only added to his look of silence. "Dumbledore is dead." He looked down at the ground.

The entire room broke out into gasps. A few the teachers burst into tears. Dumbledore was the hope of this war. I didn't know how to react. All I felt was shock. The most powerful wizard...dead? What were we going to do now. "He was murdered at Hogwarts. Their castle fell under attack of the Death Eaters." My eyes widened even more. If the Death Eaters managed to get into the castle, then it was really happening. A war was here.

"In times such as these, we must remain loyal to one another. We must remain hopeful." It was hard to believe his words as he looked hopeless himself. "In this time of war, we must remain strong." War. I never thought it would start this way. "I would like to say a few words about my dear friend before our feast comes to an end this evening. Dumbledore and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. He influenced my magical ability more than any class ever did. He was wise, intelligent, determined, and all the things I wish to be. Without him, we would have never made it through the first war. He has protected so many and will always be remembered as the greatest wizard of all time. May he rest in the greatest peace." Headmaster Elwood hung his head and stepped back from the podium. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for him to put on a strong face for us when his best friend was just killed.

Everything changed after that. The excitement of going home was lost. No one felt safe anymore. Most people would probably go into hiding and may not even return next year. I was worried about Kent's family and what they were going to do. What was I going to do without him? Clearly he would have to go into hiding now that the Death Eaters were at large. I almost feared seeing him and having to talk about it, it was too hard to think about. Plus this was his seventh year, he couldn't come back next year anyway.

Finals were easier than ever. Some teachers were too distraught to even worry about classes that they cancelled finals. Most teachers made the finals much easier than they should have been. When it was time to leave, I went to find Kent. Security was much higher as we were leaving. Apparently security wizards were all over Salem in disguise to watch out for any attacks. He was standing by the docks with his bags so I ran over. "Hi," was all I could say when I saw him.

"Hey," he said just as sadly. He took my hand. "This isn't goodbye, you know, we will see each other again."

"How?" I asked fighting back tears just thinking of it. "You're going to have to go into hiding now and you won't be back next year."

"I'll find a way," he replied with a reassuring smile as he kissed me. "I promise you. It won't be long before we see each other. I'm more worried about you, because of the way your father acted last time."

"Don't worry about me. Can I still write you?"

"I'm not sure," Kent said sadly. "My grandfather is very nervous, he has been putting charms all over the house to prevent letters from coming." My face fell. How were we going to communicate then? "Don't look so sad. I figured it out." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a muggle cell phone. We learned all about these in muggle studies. Faster than owls. "They're prepaid phones, there's only a certain amount of messages we can send each month, but it will help us remain in touch." Taking the little black muggle phone from his hand I felt a bit of hope for the first time.

 "Perfect," I said looking at it and smiling.

"Come on Kent! If we're late Grandfather will panic," Nephele called from far. Kent nodded back to her before looking at me. He didn't even say anything, he just hugged me tightly for a minute before kissing me goodbye.

"Remember, this isn't goodbye. We will see each other very soon. Promise me you'll be safe?" he said and I promised. "I love you, be careful this summer."

"Love you too," I responded sadly before he walked away.

Idella was waiting for me at the edge of the dock with her siblings. Charlie was there and surprisingly so was Selina. She was leaning up against the fence. Charlie was gazing in her direction. Suddenly I wish I had a dinner roll to throw at him, but my smirk got the point across. "There you are. We were planning on catching the next ferry. You sure you'll be alright?" Idella said.

"I honestly am not sure," I answered with a shrug. "I guess I'll go home first, if somethings wrong then I will have to go somewhere else."

"Come straight to my house," Idella said quickly. "I'm not kidding. If anything's weird just take the Floo Network to me." I nodded with a smile.

"Or me," Charlie added in. "You're more than welcome." I thanked them both. I had the best friends. Yet I was hoping I wouldn't be put in that situation and that everything was going to back to normal when I arrived.

"Selina are you heading straight home?" I called to her.

"Unfortunately," she responded bitterly. "If I passed my apparition I would be out of there before my parents could see me. I'm sure they're waiting with torches and newly formed locks all over my door." For once Selina knew there was no getting away with this.

"I passed my apparition exam Selina! So if you need to go anywhere I can take you," Charlie offered quickly. Selina looked at him as an amused smile appeared on her face.

"Thanks," she answered with a quick laugh. "But there's no getting away with this one. They'll hunt me down."

The ferry wasn't long and when we arrived, Selina was right. Her mother was standing there with an expression of rage and disgust. Selina dragged her feet over towards her mother who grabbed her by the arm and whispered angrily, "You're in for it this time. Embarrassing the family name, how dare you? Your father and I will deal with you when we get home." Her mothers face was actually red as she dragged Selina away. Charlie looked like he wanted to run after her, but remained in his place. He probably would have apparated her anywhere she wanted at that point.

The walk to the Floo Network in Old Salem Village went by too quickly. Charlie was the first to leave. He hugged us both and told us to visit him no matter what this summer. He had a point when he said it would be safe to stay disguised in the muggle world, especially somewhere even farther away from the heart of the war. Idella's siblings left before she did and once again she told me to go right to her house if my father wasn't back to normal. She even offered to come with me to my house, but I told her I would be alright. I left right directly after she did.

My feet hit the fireplace floor and I was afraid to open my eyes. What I wanted to see was a neat and orderly kitchen, with food on the table, and my father waiting in the chair to eagerly see me. As I opened my eyes, my vision couldn't be more wrong. It was beyond messy. Almost like no one was even living here. There were cobwebs all over the candles and rotted food on the table. It smelt like death. The floor was dusty and disgusting. It was completely dark. My heart began beating quickly. "Dad," I said lowly, too afraid to call for him. "Dad?" I called louder. Silence. Once again my eyes formed with tears. What was happening.

Then I heard the creaking of the floorboards and held my wand out in front of me. My heart was beating even worse now. Someone was here...what if it wasn't my father. I never actually pictured myself in an attack before. We learned as much as we could in Defense Against the Dark Arts this year, but I've never applied it to any real situation. Would it be enough? I stepped back towards the corner and held my wand out as the footsteps got closer. When the person stepped in the room, it was in fact my dad. His face was now bony and unshaven. His hair was wild and his eyes had dark circles underneath them.

"Y-you can't be here," he muttered. "I knew you would come. I hoped you wouldn't. I can't be here much longer..." he began saying quickly.

"Dad?" I said tears now falling in confusion. A year ago things were so different. "What's going on? You have to tell me." He stared at me, his blue eyes for the first time ever looking dark.

"Th-they're on to you," he said slowly. "They know something's different about you. I had to do something...something to keep them away from you."

"What?" I asked him with tears burning in my eyes. He didn't need to specify who 'they' were, the Death Eaters. Somehow they figured it out. They always did. If the Death Eaters were truly gaining power by the minute, who's to say they didn't break into the Department of Mysteries and steal all of the files? They could find out about any unique wizard in a matter of seconds.

My father didn't answer my question. He looked up at me with sad eyes and held out his left hand. Slowly he rolled up his sleeve to reveal the end of a black tattoo and my heart fell. Even more tears fell. When the sleeve was completely lifted, the Dark Mark was tattooed onto my fathers arm. "I had to. There was no other option," he said slowly as I cried to the point where I was unable to speak. Never in a million years would have pictured my father to join the Death Eaters. And it was all my fault.

He did it too protect me and now his entire life was ruined. I should have died in either of those incidents, and then his life wouldn't be so horrible. Why couldn't it have been me rather than my mother or brother? My eyes burned as I looked at what my father had to do because of me. "You have to leave," he said. I stood in my place. "Bradley you must go. They can't see you. Pack your things and leave. Once you do I will close the Floo Network."

Packing was the hardest thing I ever had to do, knowing I would likely not be coming back here. With an undetectable shrinking spell I managed to fit everything I needed along with the photos of my once whole and happy family. Would this be the last time I saw my father? "Dad-" I could barely speak a full sentence. "I'm so sorry you had to do this," I said my voice breaking. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe..." I had to stop speaking, it was getting to hard.

"This isn't your fault. I don't blame you. I work in the ministry, they would have targeted me anyway. You can't tell anyone. Remain hidden. Promise me that?" I nodded. "Once this is over I will find you and things will go back to normal." Once again, I nodded, this time hopelessly. This war felt like it was never going to end. "I love you, but you must go."

"I love you too," was all I could say. I had to do what he told me to do, otherwise he would be risking everything for nothing at all. "Baynes Manor," I said tossing the Floo powder into the dark brick fireplace. I had a bad feeling that the war was only just beginning.