For a moment, the world stopped turning.

Frozen, everyone was nothing short of shocked and heartbroken that Harry Potter, the one who was supposed to save the Wizarding world from Lord Voldemort's reign, was no longer with them. The heroes lost the fight.

In a matter of seconds, Mary felt herself being tugged to the side and sucked into a tunnel of some sorts. When the spinning finally stopped and she stumbled on her feet, she realized that she was Apparating. Next to her was Oliver and Jacob, both of which were panting from the sudden trip.

"Where are we?" Oliver spoke up, looking around.

"It's a safe house set up by the Hamiltons," Jacob explained. "Vi told me about it, even though she wasn't really supposed to tell anyone." He scratched the back of his head. "Then again, if she hadn't said anything to me, we wouldn't have this place to go to right after..." When he trailed off, his eyes began to water. "Well, you know, with what just happened."

It didn't take long for the Hamilton family and some members of the Order to show up, all of them looking tired and defeated. They gathered inside a large dining room just down the hall, where everyone took places in chairs or where they stood. Once the room was almost filled up, the meeting in regards to the Battle of Hogwarts started.

"Now, we have a lot to discuss, so let's get into it, shall we?" Mr. Hamilton announced. "I think we all agree that Harry Potter's sacrifice will not be for nothing, which is why we need to go ahead and figure out where to go from here."

So for the rest of the day, it was nothing but talks of what was left of the Order and which safe houses were secure and which were compromised. By the information that was going back and forth among the adults, there was hardly anything the Order had control over.

Mary felt hopeless. Hopeless from losing the war. Hopeless that anything good would fall upon the Wizarding world anymore. Hopeless that all would be well again, along with peace being restored throughout the lives of everyone.

Anxiety began to kick in, her nerves going into overdrive as the overwhelming feeling started to take over her body. Mary immediately left the room, trying to compose herself as well as focusing on easing her mind and body once more. Flashbacks of the battle appeared in her mind, specifically Draco and his mother. Sadness loomed over her as she remembered the looks on Narcissa's face when she called his name and he wasn't there to join them. She wondered if anyone had told them that her only son was dead, or even if any of his friends knew that he was gone.

Blaise.

Mary knew the two were good friends, and despite the fallout she and her friends and boyfriend had with him, there was a part of her that felt guilty at the thought of him being left to search for Draco and possibly never knowing what happened to him.

Her thoughts swirled with nothing but Blaise and the Malfoys gnawing at her brain. She pondered the idea of telling them, questioning whether or not she should be the one to break the news. She took out her wand when she heard footsteps coming from behind her. She turned around to see Oliver standing there, his arms folded over his chest.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Twirling her wand between her fingers, she shook her head. "No, not really. We took a hard loss."

He nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, we did." His eyes fixated on her wand. "Were you planning to use that for something?"

Looking down at her wand, she sighed. "I just keep thinking about Draco. He didn't deserve what happened to him." She waited a moment before she carried on. "Sorry I keep bringing him up, but--"

"No, don't be sorry," Oliver cut her off with a reassuring tone. "You were going to send his parents a Patronus, weren't you? To explain what happened?"

Mary hesitated, leaning against the staircase. "I don't know what I was going to do. A part of me feels like I should tell them. Even Blaise probably has no idea what happened to him."

Oliver let his head fall a bit. "Mary, he does know."

She shot him a puzzled look. "What?"

He walked towards her, sitting on the stairs, to which she did the same. "Someone in the dining room mentioned it. A lot of people spotted Zabini in the Great Hall. When he saw Malfoy's body, he just fell beside him, screaming in agony." His lip began to quiver a bit as he paused for a moment, so he quickly went back to talking. "It's how I felt inside when I saw Violet and Eliza lying dead in the Great Hall, and how you felt when Malfoy was killed in front of us." Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Anyway, Zabini has his body, so Malfoy's mum and possibly You-Know-Who are aware of his death."

"And they must think someone from the Order did it," Mary added.

"Or maybe even me if Zabini was the one to take his body back," Oliver pointed out.

"All the more reason for them to hunt you down and kill you this time," Jacob chimed in as he entered the hallway and stood in front of the two. "I think to You-Know-Who, this is more about just looking for Muggle-borns. He's going to have every Death Eater and Snatcher looking for anyone who supported Harry and the Order, and he won't stop until everyone is dead. No one is truly safe anymore."

As Jacob's words sinked into their heads, it was certain that the Wizarding world they once knew was no longer coming back. Everything had changed, taking a turn for the absolute worse.

"So what the hell do we do now?" Mary inquired.

"Well, I have an idea..." Jacob said.

Oliver let out a scoff. "This oughta be good."

"Actually, it is, and the Hamiltons agree with me," he retorted. "America."

Mary furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that now everywhere in all of Europe is about to go to shambles, we're going to need all the help we can get, and seeing that you and I have connections in America--"

"Who all know my family and what they've done to innocent people," Mary cut him off.

"But they don't know you and what you've done for us here on your own," Jacob responded. "You may have done some wrong things in the past, but look how far you've come since then. Deep down, you're a good person, and we need a lot of people like you right about now if we want to defeat You-Know-Who once and for all."

Mary sat there quietly for a moment, thinking back on everything, starting on the day she had stepped into a new country. She didn't realize how much good she had actually done ever since the war took off ten months ago. It was shocking to her how much she had gone through in almost two years of being in Europe to start her new life. In a way, it all worked out in the end by knowing that people cared about her and had her back, just like she would have theirs. She found her true family, surrounded by those that she loved and cared for.

She huffed a sigh, clasping her hands together. "I really had no idea what I'd get into when I came here, but I'm definitely glad that I did. Maybe now I know who I am and what I really stand for without people holding me back. Maybe I can convince others that they can do the same, that a small amount of good and heroism can go a long way." She paused, looking at the two boys. "We'll really get ourselves into one hell of a mess in America."

Jacob chuckled. "I'm counting on it."

The couple let out small laughs in response as Jacob exited the hallway and back into the other room.

The two sat at the end of the stairs for another moment. Just being in the comfort of one another was all that was needed for now. As everyone filed out of the dining room, some people left to go find food, while others scurried off to other safe houses. It took another hour before anyone got any food into their systems, but they were grateful that they were able to eat anything at all. From what Mary heard at the table, Death Eaters were at every corner, covering all the ground they could if it meant they could catch anyone to make You-Know Who's prisoner.

As the night fell upon them, Oliver and Mary went upstairs and took a bedroom, followed by Jacob, who shared a room with them. The three of them didn't feel tired, but got settled into bed, anyway, despite their minds not slowing down.

Mary turned her body in the bed she and Oliver were sharing. Seeing that he was staring up at the ceiling, indicating that he was still wide awake, she kept her gaze on him. All she could see from the look of his eyes was worry, and she felt her heart twinge with pain, knowing he had a lot more on his mind than he was letting on.

"You're still thinking about something," she whispered.

"I miss my parents," he admitted. "That's something else we can do once this is all over. I'd love for you to meet them."

She smiled at the thought. "Yes, I would love that." She was quiet for a minute before she spoke up again. "And Eliza's--"

"Jake and I are going to see if the Hamiltons can track them down," he cut her off. "I can't leave them with no memories of Eliza. I just can't let them never remember her."

"I understand," she assured him.

Taking a breath, he shook his head. "We've lost so much in the last couple of months. We really can't catch a break."

She giggled. "No, we can't. It might be a while before we get one of those."

Oliver laughed along with her and eventually let it die down. For a minute, he remained silent, letting his fingers move in a circular motion along Mary's knuckles. "Maybe once we get some peace in our lives we can finish our final year at Hogwarts and eventually get jobs and try to adapt to whatever new normal we'll have to live in."

"It'll be tough, that's for sure," Mary agreed. "But we'll get through it together, you and me."

He grinned. "And Jacob, of course."

She chuckled. "Yes, and Jacob."

Mary wondered how long it would take until they got to that point where things would be as close to normal as they could be. Maybe one day that would happen, and the Wizarding world would finally be at peace. She stole a glance towards Oliver, and in that moment, he made her feel like home, as if no matter what, it would all be okay. They would be okay.

"Oliver?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

He shifted his head, bringing her closer to him. "I love you."

So the two remained in their embrace as they began to drift off to sleep, where their dreams consisted of happy thoughts, for they were currently living in a nightmare that wasn't going to end anytime soon.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Oop, well, back to America they go!

Song above is Burn Out by Imagine Dragons.

Comment, vote, only the epilogue left!

-A