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𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 nearer to the Holidays than ever. Snowballs were being thrown up in the Gryffindor Tower, Flitwick had prepared his usual Christmas tree in the Great hall, George and Harry had been expelled from the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, and the D.A had been continuing their lessons.

"Okay," he said, calling them all to order. "I thought this evening we should start doing the Patronus Charm, then continue after the Christmas Break. So everyone think of the happiest memory you've got –"

Marina grabbed her wand out of her robes, and tried to recall her happiest moment. Was it when she met Ron and the rest of her siblings? Or when she came to Hogwarts? Seeing her birth parents for the last time, no that wasn't happy.

Maybe she could try to cast her patronus without a happy memory.

"Expecto Patronum!" Marina demanded, barely sparkles came out of her wand. "Expecto Patronum!"

"Um Marina?" Harry asked, "Do you need some help?"

"No...I'm fine." Marina mumbled, with sparks continuing to come out of her wand.

"Here let me help you." Harry said as he stood behind her closely, putting her hand higher. "What's your happiest memory?"

Marina felt weird being this close to him. "Meeting Ron for the first time."

"Picture that in your head, then cast the spell." Harry whispered as he put his hand on her waist. Making Marina cough slightly.

"Okay...um...Expecto Patronum!" Marina said, nothing put larger sparks came from her wand.

"Come on Marina, I know you can do this." Harry told her. Marina couldn't help but smile.

"Expecto Patronum!" Marina demanded. Suddenly, a large snowy owl appeared from Marina's wand and flew across the room. It looked exactly like Harry's snowy owl, Hedwig....that didn't mean anything right?

"Marina it's beautiful!" shrieked Lavender.

"Snowy owl is meant to mean a fearless and caring personality." Hermione smiled as everyone admired the owl patronus.

"You did it." Harry laughed, with his hand still on her waist.

"Oi get off our sister!" Fred and George said in sync. Harry turned pale as a ghost as he stood beside Marina.

Since it was the end of the hour, everyone started to leave.

"Your really good with the transfiguration spells we do, even Hermione had a hard time doing them." Harry told Marina.

"Well I guess I had a good teacher." Marina smiled as she left.

Harry stood there still with a stupid grin on his face.

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"𝐈 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐄 Harry and Cho kissed." Lavender said on that night as the three girls sat up in their bunk beds chatting.

"That must of been so awkward when you walked in on them kissing." noted Pavarti.

"Who cares? Why are even talking about her anyway?" spat Marina as she laid her head on her pillow.

"Because —"

Suddenly Hermione came into the room.

"Marina, Mr. Weasley, he's been attacked." Hermione shrieked breathlessly.

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𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐃 dropped. She couldn't lose another parent. Not now...not ever.

"Harry – what's going on?" asked Ginny as they entered Dumbledore's office. "Professor McGonagall says you saw Dad hurt –"

"Your father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix," said Dumbledore before Potter could speak. "He has been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I am sending you back to Sirius's house, which is much more convenient for the hospital than the Burrow. You will meet your mother there."

"How're we going?" asked Fred, looking shaken. "Floo powder?"

"No," said Dumbledore, "Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the Network is being watched. You will be taking a Portkey." He indicated the old kettle lying innocently on his desk. "We are just waiting for Phineas Nigellus to report back... I wish to be sure that the coast is clear before sending you –"

There was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor.

"It is Fawkes's warning," said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell. "She must know you're out of your beds Minerva, go and head her off – tell her any story –"

Professor McGonagall was gone in a swish of tartan.

"He says he'll be delighted," said a bored voice behind Dumbledore; the wizard called Phineas had reappeared in front of his Slytherin banner. "My great-great-grandson has always had odd taste in houseguests..."

"Come here, then," Dumbledore said to Harry and the Weasleys. "And quickly, before anyone else joins us..."

Harry and the others gathered around Dumbledore's desk.

"You have all used a Portkey before?" asked Dumbledore, and they nodded, each reaching out to touch some part of the blackened kettle. "Good. On the count of three then... one... two..."

It happened in a fraction of a second: In the infinitesimal pause before Dumbledore said "three,"

"... three."

Marina felt a powerful jerk behind her navel, the ground vanished from beneath her feet, her hand was glued to the kettle; she was banging into the others as all sped forward in a swirl of colors and a rush of wind, the kettle pulling them onward and then –

Her feet hit the ground so hard that his knees buckled, the kettle clattered to the ground and somewhere close at hand a voice said, "Back again, the blood traitor brats, is it true their father's dying...?"

"OUT!" roared a second voice.

Marina scrambled to her feet and looked around; they had arrived in the gloomy basement kitchen of number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

Toula and Sirius hurried to them, still in their day clothes.

"Don't worry my loves, your father will be alright." Toula smiled as she hugged Ginny.

"What's going on?" Sirius said, stretching out a hand to help Marina up. "Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been badly injured –"

"Ask Harry," said Fred.

"Yeah, I want to hear this for myself," said George.

Everyone was looking at him.

"It was –" Harry began. "I had a – a kind of – vision..."

And he told them all that he had seen.

"Is Mum here?" said Fred, turning to Toula.

"I don't think so. But the important thing was to get you away before Umbridge could interfere. I expect Dumbledore's letting Molly know now. You poor things, come we'll

"We've got to go to St. Mungo's," said Marina urgently.

"I agree." Ginny blurted. "Sirius, can you lend us cloaks or anything –?"

"Hang on, you can't go tearing off to St. Mungo's!" said Sirius.

"Yes they can, it's their father Sirius!" Toula shrieked, "Come on, I'll get you there."

"Thanks Toula. And we can go to St. Mungo's if we want," said Fred, with a mulish expression, "he's our dad!"

"And how are you going to explain how you knew Arthur was attacked before the hospital even let his wife know?"

"Let's just go already!" Marina yelled.

"What does that matter?" said George hotly.

"It matters because we don't want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of things that are happening hundreds of miles away!" said Sirius angrily. "Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of that information?"

"Forget the Ministry Sirius! It's their father!" Toula said.

"It's too risky." Sirius mumbled.

Fred and George looked as though they could not care less what the Mini- stry made of anything. Ron was still white-faced and silent.

Ginny said, "Somebody else could have told us... We could have heard it somewhere other than Harry "

"Like who?" said Sirius impatiently. "Listen, your dad's been hurt while on duty for the Order and the circumstances are fishy enough without his children knowing about it seconds after it happened, you could seriously damage the Order's –"

"We don't care about the dumb Order!" shouted Fred.

"It's our dad dying we're talking about!" yelled George.

"Your father knew what he was getting into, and he won't thank you for messing things up for the Order!" said Sirius angrily in his turn. "This is how it is – this is why you're not in the Order – you don't understand – there are things worth dying for!"

"Easy for you to say, stuck here!" bellowed Fred. "I don't see you risking your neck!"

The little color remaining in Sirius's face drained from it. He looked for a moment as though he would quite like to hit Fred, but when he spoke, it was in a voice of determined calm. "I know it's hard, but we've all got to act as though we don't know anything yet. We've got to stay put, at least until we hear from your mother, all right?"

"That's right," said Sirius encouragingly, "come on, let's all... let's all have a drink while we're waiting. Accio Butterbeer!"

He raised his wand as he spoke and half a dozen bottles came flying toward them out of the pantry, skidded along the table, scattering the debris of Sirius's meal, and stopped neatly in front of the six of them. They all drank, and for a while the only sounds were those of the crackling of the kitchen fire and the soft thud of their bottles on the table.

Marina put the bottle down on the table a little harder than she meant to, so that it slopped over onto the table.

"It's alright Marina. Your father will be okay." Toula whispered to her.

"I can't lose someone again." Marina mumbled to her.

"You won't. Fate works in strange ways. What happens is for a good thing." Toula said, "And Sirius is just stressed a bit, don't worry about what he said."

Then a burst of fire in midair illuminated the dirty plates in front of them and as they gave cries of shock, a scroll of parchment fell with a thud onto the table, accompanied by a single golden phoenix tail feather.

"Fawkes!" said Sirius at once, snatching up the parchment. "That's not Dumbledore's writing – it must be a message from your mother – here –"

He thrust the letter into George's hand, who ripped it open and read aloud, "Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are.I will send news as soon as I can. Mum."

George looked around the table.

"Still alive..." he said slowly. "But that makes it sound..."

He did not need to finish the sentence. It sounded to Marina too as though Mr. Weasley was hovering somewhere between life and death.

Sirius suggested once that they all go to bed, but without any real conviction, and the Weasleys' looks of disgust were answer enough. They mostly sat in silence around the table, watching the candle wick sinking lower and lower into liquid wax, now and then raising bottles to their lips, speaking only to check the time, to wonder aloud what was happening, and to reassure one another that if there was bad news, they would know straightaway, for Mrs. Weasley must long since have arrived at St. Mungo's.

Marina was then so exhausted she had fallen asleep snoring on Harry's shoulder.

And then, at ten past five in the morning by Ron's watch, the door swung open and Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen. She was extremely pale, but when they all turned to look at her, Marina, Fred, Ron, and Harry half-rising from their chairs, she gave a warm smile.

"He's going to be all right," she said, her voice weak with tiredness. "He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him now, he's going to take the morning off work."

Marina hugged her mother with gratitude. She wasn't going to lose her father again! Yes!

"Breakfast!" said Sirius loudly and joyfully, jumping to his feet. "Where's that accursed house-elf? Kreacher! KREACHER!"
But Kreacher did not answer the summons.

"Oh, forget it Sirius," Toula smiled, "Come help me make breakfast for everyone."

"Great...forget English sasuages and bacon. Time for Greek pastries and yogurt!" Sirius teased. Toula rolled her eyes as they entered the kitchen.