The next morning was crazier than ever. Everyone had to get up early to get ready for the wedding, which wasn't until tonight. While the Weasley family was arguing downstairs, I got out of bed and stretched my arms out, walking towards the mirror. I looked at my tired face and my hair. I thought about how my hair always looked the same every time I looked in the mirror. I wanted to do something different, so I decided to fix that instead of trying to go downstairs for breakfast.

I grabbed my wand from the bedside table and sighed, looking at my reflection and thinking about what I wanted to do with my hair. I finally figured it out, waving my wand down my hair until a pink streak was on the side. I continued to add little bits on the same spot and finally looked in the mirror at the new addition. At least I would match with my dress at the wedding. I sighed in content, knowing that I was happy with the pink in my hair now.

The door opened and I looked to see Harry coming into the room. "What are you doing up here? Mrs. Weasley is about to explode downstairs."

"Okay, I'll be down there in a minute," I told him.

"What did you do to your hair?" he asked, touching the pink highlights.

"Oh, I got bored with it, so I added a little color," I answered.

"I like it," he said. "If only you had a purple dress and purple hair. We could've matched for the wedding."

"We don't always have to match, Harry," I said, smiling at him. "I'll meet you downstairs. Let me just change and make myself look presentable."

Harry chuckled, leaving the bedroom so I could get dressed. I got into a red, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and hair. When I left the bathroom, I ran into George, who was heading downstairs as well.

"Oh, hi, George," I said.

"Shh! Be quiet, Max," he whispered, motioning me to be quiet.

"Why?" I asked in confusion.

"I think Harry and Ginny are down there," he told me.

"You mean, they're alone?" I asked.

He nodded his head, smirking and descending the stairs quietly, followed by me. When we entered the kitchen, we saw my twin brother and George's little sister snogging the hell out of each other. Once they heard us, Ginny pulled away and looked at us. Harry turned around and saw us as well.

"Mooooorning," we said in unison.

George gave the two a wink, making me grin a little.

Ginny walked out of the room in embarrassment first, then Harry left, leaving with a grin on his face. George and I shook our heads, laughing at what we just saw a few seconds ago.

"That was pretty funny, wasn't it?" he asked.

"It was. Their faces when they saw us were the best," I said.

He nodded his head in agreement. He left the kitchen, going outside to help the others for tonight. When I went in the living room, Harry was in there.

"So, how was your snogging session with Ginny?" I teased, grinning and raising my eyebrows at him.

"Shut up, Max," he retorted, his cheeks turning red.

"Oh, come on, bro. Don't act like you never saw me snogging Draco in the hallways at Hogwarts," I pointed out.

"Well, at least I didn't ask you how it was," he protested. "Besides, I was looking for you when I found you and him together. That was an accident. You walked in on me and Ginny on purpose."

"At least I got to see something funny before the day was over, and it's not even the afternoon yet."

Harry laughed. "You're a horrible twin."

"But you still choose to love me, anyway," I said.

"I don't think I have a choice, really," he joked.

I playfully rolled my eyes at him. "Whatever."

Harry smiled at me. As we were about to head upstairs to get ready for the wedding tonight, we heard something come from outside.

"What was that?" Harry asked me.

"I don't know," I replied, looking out the window, seeing someone walking towards the house. "Harry, someone's here."

"Who is it?" he questioned, walking beside me and looking out the window as well.

"Bloody hell. What's the Minister for Magic doing here?" we heard George say from outside.

As we left the window, Hermione came downstairs. "Guys, did you know that--"

"The Minister for Magic is here," Harry and I said at the same time.

Suddenly, a man cleared his throat. We looked to see the Minister for Magic standing there.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, Minister?" Harry asked him.

"I think we both know the answer to that question, Mr. Potter," he replied.

When Ron entered the house, the five of us went to the living room. The four of us sat on the couch across from the Minister, waiting for him to begin with whatever he came here to tell us. He placed a cloth gently on the table that was between us.

"So this is...?" I began to say, pointing at the cloth.

The Minister picked up his briefcase and pulled out a piece of parchment. He placed his briefcase back down by his feet and opened up the parchment without his wand. Once the parchment was in plain view, the Minister began reading it out loud.

"'Herein is set forth the last will and testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. First, to Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, a device of my own making, in the hope that, when things seem most dark, it will show him the light.'" The Minister unfolded the piece of cloth on the table and picked up the Deluminator, handing it to Ron.

"Dumbledore left this for me?" he asked.

"Yes, he did," the Minister replied.

"Brilliant," Ron muttered. "What does it do?" His answer came when he flipped the top open and light from a lamp came flying inside the device. He flipped it back open and the light went back to the lamp. "Wicked," he said.

The Minister continued reading Dumbledore's will. "'To Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in the hope that she find it entertaining and instructive.'" He took out a book from his briefcase and handed it to Hermione.

"Mum used to read me those," Ron said. Then, he began to list titles of stories that only I heard of. When he realized Harry and Hermione didn't know them, he closed his mouth and stayed quiet.

"'To Harry James Potter, I leave the Snitch he caught at his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill.'" He took out another piece of cloth and unwrapped it, revealing the Snitch. Harry took it from his hand and held it in his fingers. We all looked at it, as if something amazing was about to happen.

"'To Maxine Lillian Potter, I leave a charm from Ariana's charm bracelet, in hope that she'll find a piece of home in it and understand the real meaning behind the silver and blue.'"

He took a box out of his briefcase and gave it to me. I opened it up and found another charm for my charm bracelet. Why did everyone give me charms? I saw that it was in the shape of a tiara. The white gems were in the shape of wings and the blue stone in the middle made the eagle come together. I clipped the charm onto my bracelet with all my other charms and looked back up at Scrimgeour.

"Is that it, then?" Harry asked him.

"Not quite," he answered. "Dumbledore left you and your sister a second bequest: The Sword of Godric Gryffindor. But unfortunately, the Sword of Gryffindor was not Dumbledore's to give away. As an important historical artifact, it belongs--"

"To Harry and Max," Hermione interrupted. "It belongs to Harry and Max. The sword came to them when they needed it in the Chamber of Secrets."

"The sword may present itself to any worthy Gryffindor, Miss Granger, but that does not make it that wizard's property. Besides, in any event, the current whereabouts of the sword are unknown."

"Excuse me?" I spoke up.

"The sword is missing," he said. We were silent for a moment until Scrimgeour spoke up again. "I don't know what you two are up to, Mr. and Miss Potter, but you can't fight this war on your own. He's too strong."

With that, the Minister for Magic bid his goodbyes and left us thinking about what we were going to do about the Horcruxes.

"So what are we going to do about the Horcruxes?" Ron asked.

"Let's just get through this wedding first," Harry replied, getting up from the couch and going upstairs.

I followed him, wanting to talk to him about the charm Dumbledore had left me. "I wonder why Dumbledore gave us a Snitch and a charm for a bracelet."

"Hey," I said back. "I wonder why Dumbledore gave us a Snitch and a charm for a bracelet."

"Not to mention the Sword of Gryffindor, too," he added. "Not only that, but the sword is missing as well."

"Where do you think it could be?" I asked. "I mean, shouldn't it be a Hogwarts in Dumbledore's office?"

"Yeah, but let's not forget that he's dead now, so there's a new headmaster."

"Oh, right."

I totally forgot that there was a new headmaster at Hogwarts now that Dumbledore was dead. I had a feeling it was Snape who ran Hogwarts now. Voldemort probably wanted him to be the new headmaster so that Death Eaters could be in there. Not only that, but it was going to be harder for us to get in with all the Dementors and Death Eaters roaming the castle. I wasn't sure if we were going to go back to Hogwarts at this point.

"Why do you think this is in the shape of an eagle?" I inquired, looking at my new charm.

"Maybe Ariana liked eagles, whoever that is," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

I couldn't help but laugh at his reply. "Maybe. But why eagles, though? What about lions?"

"Or tigers?" Harry spoke up.

"Or bears?"

Suddenly, Hermione came in, stumbling over her two feet. "Oh, my!" she said, straightening herself out and sighing, looking at the two of us. "You two better finish getting ready for tonight. Mrs. Weasley is about to have a heart attack if we don't hurry and get dressed." With that, Hermione left the room, leaving us to get ready for the wedding.

"Alright, let's get this stupid wedding over with," I said, grabbing my dress and leaving to go to the bathroom.

I thought all the yelling and chaos would die down once the time of the wedding was getting closer. But I would be lying if I had said that.

Mrs. Weasley refused to leave the kitchen until everything was perfect for tonight. She had been cooking since noon and had no help with it whatsoever. The boys were setting up the tent and the tables and chairs under the tent while Ginny and Hermione were helping with decorating the tables. I was given the job to place the empty glasses for drinks at one big table. After I was done, I ran back into the house and went upstairs, going into the bedroom to grab my wand. I walked towards the mirror and sighed.

I looked in the mirror and thought about how I wanted to do my hair for the wedding. I decided to go with curls. I slightly curled my hair until I thought it was the way I wanted it to be. I didn't want to sit through an entire wedding, but I didn't have a choice.

All of a sudden, I heard a knock on the door, making me jump as I turned to see who it was. "Oh, hey, Harry," I said.

"Wow," was his response. "You look beautiful, Max."

I smiled a little. "Thanks, Harry. You look nice as well."

"Thanks." He stuck out his elbow for me. "Ready to get this over with?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," I replied, linking my elbow with his.

We went downstairs and out of the house, looking around the yard in awe. The Weasleys had done a fine job with the place. The night sky was breathtaking, making me laugh and smile more at the scenery.

"It's so beautiful," I stated

"Yes, it is," he replied. "Come on." He pulled me inside the tent.

This was going to be a long wedding.

I went up to my room as soon as Bill and Fleur kissed. I couldn't stand seeing another couple happy while I was stuck being miserable and feeling lonely. I ran inside the bedroom and started pacing the room, thinking about Draco again. I was about to cry when someone came into the room.

"You okay, Max?" Harry asked with concern.

"I'm fine," I replied, sniffling.

"Is it Draco?" he asked. I nodded my head. "I'm sorry, Max. You know that if there was anything I could do--"

"I just miss him, you know? It's hard not being able to see him all the time. I'm ready for this stupid war to be over so that I can see him and be with him--"

Harry stopped my rambling by pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, holding onto him as tight as I could.

"Don't give up on hope, Max," Harry whispered into my ear. "Now let's get back down to the wedding before anyone notices that we're gone."

I followed Harry back down to the wedding and tried my best to look like I was having fun. Everyone was mostly dancing or watching Bill and Fleur do their first dance as husband and wife. Hermione was looking around, smiling and laughing along with everyone else. Ron was too busy staring at Hermione to do anything else.

"Why don't you go ask her to dance?" I whispered in Ron's ear once I approached him.

He jumped, sighing in relief when he saw that it was me. "I can't ask her to dance."

"Why not? She's waiting for a gentleman to go up to her and ask her to dance with her. It's not that hard, Ron."

"It is when you have competition," he said.

"What competi--" I didn't even finish my sentence once I saw who Ron was talking about. "Viktor Krum is here."

Viktor was now talking to Hermione, making her smile and giggle at everything he said. I remembered him from fourth year. Harry and I competed with him in that stupid Triwizard Tournament. I remembered when he punched me in the jaw.

"I didn't even know he was invited to the wedding," I said. "Fleur must have invited him."

"She did," Ron said. "I'm going to go get something to eat. I'm starving."

"Okay, I'm going to go find Harry, then."

I walked away from Ron and found Harry standing by himself. I went up to him and noticed that he was staring at someone.

"See that man over there?" he asked, pointing at a man sitting at a table with a drink in his hand.

I nodded my head. "What about him?"

"This morning, before Ginny and I...well, you know--"

"Before you two were snogging the hell out of each other?" I finished for him, causing him to blush. I grinned at him. "Go on."

"Anyway, before that happened, I was reading an article he wrote about Dumbledore's death. He seems to know a lot about him. I think we should go talk to him." I followed Harry as he was walking towards the man when Luna stopped in front of us.

"Hello, Harry. Hello, Max," she greeted us with her dreamy voice and smile. "I've interrupted a deep thought, haven't I? I can see it growing smaller in your eyes, Harry."

"Of course not," Harry said, shaking his head quickly.

"You look beautiful tonight, Luna," I said, smiling at her.

She smiled back. "Thank you, Max, and you look lovely as well."

I flashed another smile at her. "Thanks. How are you, by the way?"

"Very well. I got bit by a garden gnome only moments ago..."

A man approached Luna, grabbing her shoulders and chuckling at her. "Gnome saliva is very beneficial." He kissed her on top of the head and then looked at us, sticking out his hand for us to shake. "Xenophilius Lovegood. We live just over the hill."

"Pleasure to meet you, sir," we said at the same time after we both shook his hand.

"I trust you two know that those at The Quibbler, unlike those toadies at the Daily Prophet, fully supported Dumbledore in his lifetime, and, in his death, will support you two just as fully."

"Thank you," we said again at the same time.

"Come, Daddy. Harry and Max don't want to talk to us right now. They're just too polite to say so," Luna told her father as she gave us one last smile and dragged her father away from us.

"You know, we really need to stop saying everything at the same time," I told Harry.

"It's a twin thing, Max. There's no escaping the power of twins," he joked.

I rolled my eyes as I continued to follow him to see the man that he was talking about. We slowly approached him as he was drinking and observing the people around him.

"Excuse me, sir, may we sit down?" Harry asked him.

"Mr. and Miss Potter! By all means. Here, sit down," he insisted, pulling out two chairs for both of us.

Once we were both seated, Harry began talking again. "I found what you wrote in the Daily Prophet really moving. You obviously knew Dumbledore well."

"Well, I certainly knew him the longest," he exclaimed. "That is, you don't count his brother, Aberforth, and somehow, people never really do seem to count Aberforth."

Dumbledore had a brother? "We didn't even know he had a brother," I said.

"Well, Dumbledore was always very private, even as a boy," he said.

"Don't despair, Elphias," a woman that was at a table beside us spoke up. "I've been told he's been thoroughly un-riddled by Rita Skeeter, in eight hundred pages, no less. Word has it that someone talked to her. Someone who knew the Dumbledore family well. Both you and I know who that is, Elphias."

"A monstrous betrayal!" he added.

Harry and I gave each other confused looks. "Who are we talking about?" Harry asked.

"Bathilda Bagshot," the woman said in a hushed tone.

Harry and I gave her a confused look. "Who?" we asked at the same time, raising our eyebrows at her.

"For Merlin's sake, you two, she's only the most celebrated magical historian of the last century! She was as close to the Dumbledores as anyone. Oh, I'm sure Rita Skeeter thought it well worth a trip to Godric's Hollow just to take a peek into that old bird's rattled cage."

"Godric's Hollow?" Harry repeated. "Bathilda Bagshot lives in Godric's Hollow?"

"Well, that's where she first met Dumbledore," the woman replied.

"Wait, Dumbledore used to live there?" I asked.

"The Dumbledore family moved there after his father killed those three Muggles. Oh, it was quite the scandal," she said. "Honestly, you two, are you sure you knew him at all?"

Harry and I weren't sure anymore. Dumbledore's family moved to Godric's Hollow after his father killed three Muggles? Why didn't he tell us he lived there? That was where our parents were murdered by Voldemort, and he decided not to tell us that he practically grew up there after what his father did? Maybe he only did it for our safety, or for his safety, maybe. He probably didn't want Harry and I to go back there for many reasons. But part of me was thinking that we had to at some point, even if neither of us wanted to do so.

I looked up at the sky and saw something floating up there. I tapped my brother on the shoulder, trying to get his attention.

"What?" he asked.

"Look up at the sky. Do you know what that thing is?"

He stared at it with an odd look on his face as it came closer to us. Suddenly, what we saw flew through the tent and in the center of the floor. It was a message. Everyone stayed where they were at so that they could hear what it said.

"The Ministry has fallen," Kingsley announced. "The Minister for Magic is dead."

"Voldemort has taken over the Ministry," I said. Harry nodded in agreement.

"They are coming," Kingsley added in a whisper. "They are coming. They are coming." With that, he was gone.

"Death Eaters are coming," Harry said.

"It was nice meeting you two!" Elphias told us before he Disapparated.

All of a sudden, they were here. The Death Eaters began shooting spells at everyone. The guests were panicking, running around everywhere, not knowing what to do.

"We have to find Ron and Hermione!" Harry shouted.

I nodded. "I see them! Over there!" I yelled at Harry. He followed me until he saw Ginny.

"Ginny!" he screamed.

I pulled him back. "Harry, we have to go! She'll be fine. We have to leave now!" I told him, pulling him in the other direction.

We ran over towards Ron and Hermione, grabbing their hands. We quickly Disapparated from the wedding.

Before I could even process where we were at, I heard the sound of a horn coming our way. The four of us quickly backed away from the road, panting and trying to regain our breaths.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"We're not in the Wizarding world anymore," Harry said. "We're back in the Muggle world, Max."

I groaned. "Shit," I muttered under my breath. I knew at this point that we were now starting our journey to find the Horcruxes.

The war had begun and it was time to finish what Dumbledore started.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Okay, my hands hurt. 3K words at 1:30 in the morning was probably the worst idea ever.

So this is what Max did to her hair:

I didn't want y'all to think she looked like she had bubble gum or cotton candy on her head, lol. XD

Well, anyways, what did you think of this chapter? I hoped you liked it, because my hands are still hurting!

Comment, vote, and Max's dress that she wore at the wedding is at the top. :)

-A