Hope's POV:

The next morning I wake up to Hermione shaking me. "Wake up, you need to get dressed." She insists. I groan. "Oh, please don't fight me on this Hope. Just wake up. I'll be waiting for you outside. Also, set out everything you'll need for our search. 

I have most everything for the journey, but I don't know what all you'll need for spells and things like that." She tells me. I sit up and nod. "Sure thing. Give me a few minutes to get ready." She nods and exits the room. Ginny isn't inside so I'm free to change. 

Once I'm dressed I curl my hair softly and do my makeup before heading downstairs. Harry is reading a newspaper in the kitchen. I sigh and walk over to him. "Morning. Get any rest last night?" I ask, grabbing a mug and pouring a cup of coffee.

After we came in from convincing Harry to stay, we immediately went to our respective bedrooms to get some sleep. Being tired will not do us any good. I glance at the paper in his hand. It's an article over Dumbledore. I sigh. 

"It seems stupid, to have a wedding with all this mess going on." "Well, maybe that's the reason to have one." I shrug. "I'm not big on weddings. The last one I went to was for my Aunts, Freya and Keelin. Besides my dad's funeral, it was the last big thing my family did together." 

He nods, taking my hand and squeezing it gently. "Everything will be alright Hope." I shake my head at his words. "Don't make promises you can't keep Harry. We're at war. Wars have casualties. We saw it last night, and Mad-Eye will not be our last death." He looks down at this. 

"We're not just kids learning magic anymore Harry." I look down and shake my head. "When did things get this bad?" I mumble. "I think they've always been this bad, but now, with all he has taken, it's personal." He says. I nod. He's right. We've been fighting Voldemort since I came here. 

Since we were 11. Protecting the Sorcerer's Stone seems like forever ago. "What's on your mind?" Harry asks me softly. "Everything. Nothing. This whole situation...it's getting to me I guess. We've been at this since we were kids." He nods. I sigh and turn to him. 

"I guess it just feels real now." Something flashes through his eyes before he pulls me into him. My head places itself in the crook of his neck and I nuzzle into it as he holds me. "As long as we work together, we'll get through this. I know it." 

I nod against him, pulling away before leaning in and pressing our lips together. It still feels just as magical as it did that first time down in Snape's office back in fifth year. God, even that feels like a lifetime ago. I hear the floor creaking behind me and pull away. 

I turn to see George behind us, took brush handle in his ear as he drinks my coffee. "Morning." He smirks, taking a sip. I genuinely don't know how to react to this. "Uh, come on." I mutter, grabbing his hand and walking out of the kitchen. 

Before we can do anything we hear Ron call for us from downstairs along with Hermione. When we get down there I'm shocked to see the new Minister of Magic. "To what do we owe the pleasure Minister?" Harry asks. "I think we both know the answer to that question, Mr. Potter." 

His voice is deep and sure as he speaks. He leads us to the living room and we all sit down in front of him as he lays down a cloth wrap. "And this is...?" Harry trails his question off in confusion. He pulls out a piece of paper before making it float in front of him so he can read it. 

"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 hope that when things seem most dark, it will show him the light." He reads off. 

He opens the cloth to reveal a small object that resembles a lighter, but slightly different. Ron takes it gently. "Dumbledore left this for me?" "Yeah." "Brilliant. What is it?" He asks before clicking it. A light lit at the other end of the room flies into the device. 

He clicks it again and the light appears. "Wicked." He mutters. "To Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of 'The Tales of Beatle The Bard', in the hope that she find it entertaining and instructive." He says, handing Hermione an old book. 

"Mum used to read me those. 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot' 'Babbitty Rabbitty and the Cackling Stump'." We all look at him confused. "Oh, come on. 'Babbitty Rabbitty'? No?" He asks. I just shrug. At this the Minister carries on. "To Hope Andrea Mikaelson." I perk up at my name.

"I leave my beloved Phoenix, Fawkes, in hopes that his unending life will remind her that she will always have a friend." His words have a double meaning. When I die, most of the people I love will grow old while I'll stay the same for eternity. 

With Fawkes, he'll die and then come back on an endless cycle. I'll never be alone. "Where is he?" I ask. "He is around. Dumbledore left this to call him when you finally settle down." He hands me a small silver whistle. Not a regular one. It's shaped like a dog whistle. 

I don't blow it since I know I will not be able to settle down for a while. "One more thing Miss Mikaelson." He tells me. I look back up at him. "Also to Miss Mikaelson, I leave this letter for her my home in Godric's Hollow in hopes that she will find a home in it." 

I stare at him in shock as he hold a key and a letter in his hands. "This is the key to the Dumbledore Estate and these are the enchantments around it that you will need to take down before entering. There is one more thing." I stare at him in shock as I take the key and paper. 

What more could he have left me? "To Miss Mikaelson I leave all that is in my Gringots vault so that she may not stress about any problem in her future." It's too much. Too much left to me. Ever since I've been here Dumbledore has taken care of me. 

Kind of like a grandfather would take care of his orphan grandchild. I never had grandparents besides Grandma Mary. He holds out another key to me and I shakily take it. Harry grabs my free hand, squeezing it to assure me. The Minister then turns to Harry. 

"To Harry James Potter, I leave the snitch he caught in his first quidditch match at Hogwarts as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill." He says, holding up the snitch by its cloth, handing it to Harry. For some reason the Minister looks dejected at this. Why? 

Was he expecting something? "Is that it, then?" Harry asks. "Not quite. Dumbledore left you a second bequest. The Sword of Godric Gryffindor. Unfortunately the sword of Gryffindor was not Dumbledore's to give away. As an important historical artifact, it belongs-" 

"To Harry." Hermione interrupts him. "It belongs to Harry. It came to him when he most needed it in the Chamber of Secrets." She insists. "The sword may present itself to any worth Gryffindor Miss Granger. That does not make it that wizard's property." He states firmly. 

"And, in any event, the current whereabouts of the sword are unknown." He says. "Excuse me?" Ron asks. "The sword is missing. I don't know what you're up to, Mr. Potter, but you can't fight this war on your own. He's too strong." He says, making eye contact with each of us. 

The question is, what now?