Before the Dawn | George Weasley

63

On Christmas Day, Nagini reporting having seen Harry in Godric's Hollow, the town where the Dark Lord had murdered his parents when Harry was a baby.

I sat stiffly among the others as she hissed the story to Voldemort, trying to look as if I weren't straining to hear every word.

Harry and Hermione had fallen into the trap we'd set, she said, and she'd nearly gotten them. They're searching for the sword of Gryffindor, she said, and they're going to use it to destroy the horcruxes.

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up at the mention of horcruxes. I had read about them before, finding their subject matter only mildly interesting, but knowing what they were changed everything.

Suddenly several things fell into place:

The objects that Voldemort had mentioned the night we attacked Hogwarts—the ones that Dumbledore had been trying to find before he died—were horcruxes, pieces of Voldemort's soul that he had divided up in an attempt at immortality.

That explained why Harry was at the Ministry Headquarters that day; he must have discovered that there was a horcrux hidden there somewhere and was trying to find it in order to destroy it. Destroy all the horcruxes, and one destroys Voldemort.

Not only that, but I had delivered one of the horcruxes straight to Dumbledore to be destroyed. I had handed over a piece of the Dark Lord's life, unaware that the ring in my pocket that day was something that could help defeat Voldemort once and for all.

No one else in the room reacted to this news from Nagini, confirming my suspicions that I was the only Parseltongue there besides Voldemort, and they were all waiting for him to relay the message. 

I felt my skin prickle; I needed to get this information to Remus as soon as possible. Or, it was possible he already knew, and hadn't been able to contact me to tell me. Either way, I needed to reestablish contact with the Order as soon as possible.

The only way I could think of finding Remus was by going to Hogwarts. There, I could ask Minerva for assistance—maybe she knew where their new safehouse was. I could ask Severus, but the very thought of that repelled me, as I was still smarting from our previous interaction.

Three days later, I apparated to Hogsmeade. The once-cheerful village was dark and ominously silent, not a single person in sight. I passed by all the familiar shops as I trudged through the snow, my boots crunching underfoot, and tried to remember what it had all looked before. The memory evaded me, and I took a long hit from my flask, aching with the realisation that those days were lost.

Once I'd reached Hogwarts, I was stopped just outside the grounds by two guards, both of them Snatchers, by the looks of it. I fixed them with a contemptuous glare, harbouring a special distaste for those who committed their time to imprisoning innocent Muggle-borns.

"What's your name, then, pretty?" one of them asked as I approached.

I shot him an icy stare, pulling back my hood to better show my face. "You should know who I am."

The other one elbowed his comrade, then, realisation on his face, and spoke in a low voice. "That's Doyle, that is. One of his best."

The first Snatcher's jaw fell agape, and he stammered. "S-Sorry, miss, I meant no disrespect—"

I sneered at him as I brushed past them both, crossing the bridge onto school grounds without another word.

Hogwarts was nothing like I remembered; it held none of its usual cheer, students trudging about with their heads down. A certain heaviness lay over the school. I had to say it reminded me more of Azkaban than it did the school I had attended only two years prior.

I caught sight of a student with a nasty gash across their face, and then, upon closer inspection, realised quite a few of the students were sporting facial lesions of some sort. What in Merlin's name—

"Doyle," an all-too familiar voice spoke behind me. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

I turned, forcing a smile onto my face. "Carrow. Quite like what you've done with the place."

Alecto cast a smug look around. "It's an improvement, no doubt. Amycus and I have been implementing a more... hands-on teaching approach."

I caught sight of Adrian Pucey with a blackened eye and bloodied nose down the hall. He met my gaze briefly, looking positively miserable, then turned and hurried away.

I smiled to hide the anger surging through me. "Lovely. I'm here to see Severus, might you know where he is?"

"Probably in his office," said Alecto. "He hardly leaves there nowadays."

I gave a curt nod and started towards Dumbledore's old office. Then, once I was sure I was out of the Death Eater's sight, I made a sharp turn and cut across to Minerva's office.

I entered without knocking, for fear of being seen. Professor McGonagall looked up sharply as I walked in, pausing her conversation with the student across from her: Ginny.

I stopped dead at the sight of the ginger-haired girl. "Ginny."

"Mackie." She stood, staring at me with wide eyes. Then she pulled me into a tight hug. I felt myself melt a little into her embrace, the first real affection I'd received from anyone but Miles in months.

"Miss Doyle, whatever are you doing here?" Minerva asked sharply.

I pulled away from Ginny and glanced around. "Is your office sound-proofed?"

"Of course."

"Good." I looked between the two, then launched into my explanation—the horcruxes, needing to find Remus, all of it.

"Have you heard from Harry? Or Ron?" Ginny asked eagerly.

I shook my head. "Last I heard Harry and Hermione escaped a trap we'd set for him in Godric's Hollow. No word on Ron, though. I don't know where he is—they must've split up for some reason."

Ginny sat back, disappointed.

"I have not heard from Remus recently, either," said Minerva. "Ever since Grimmauld Place was ransacked, we haven't been able to find a new place to meet."

An idea struck me then. "Why not meet at the house I'm staying at? The owners are purebloods, Slytherin legacies, and I don't think anyone would ever suspect they'd allow the Order to meet on their premises. I'm the only one there, anyway."

Minerva looked thoughtful. "That might work."

"Do you know where Remus is now?"

"Last I heard, he and Tonks are staying with her parents at their safehouse," Minerva mused, scribbling something onto a piece of parchment. "Here's the address. Tell them I sent you, and give them my best."

I took the parchment gratefully. "Thank you."

I knew I should have left then, but I hovered, casting Ginny a questioning look. As I opened my mouth to ask, she interrupted with a small smile.

"He's alright. They're all safe."

I closed my mouth, giving a terse nod, then turned on my heel and walked out.