Lionhearts | hp. ✓

Year 7 | Until Death Do Us Part

      THE WAR DID not begin with a bang or a melodramatic attempt to seize power, but with whispers of treachery and fear and hope. Rebellion hung in the thick fog of that one Summer morning in early July as witches and wizards alike resisted the corruption that crept its way into all they knew. With the faces of the rebellion hidden in plain sight and the mournful weeks following the death of the great Albus Dumbledore, every day that passed meant the loss of another hopeless rebel.

       Mysterious disappearances and suspicious deaths circled the topics of the frankly corrupted Daily Prophet, which was fighting against the reliable Quibbler as it climbed up the ranks. For everyday that passed since Lily Potter and Fred Weasley fell off the map -- out of touch with everyone they knew except for a select few -- she managed to acquire the daily Quibbler without being sighted by the public. Everyday when he returned to their latest place of residence -- a small apartment in a little village in London -- Fred would find the latest edition of the Quibbler robbed of its articles and photographs by a pair of scissors. Lily Potter attacked the list of missing people under the radar of the Ministry, which mostly entailed Fred doing the magic and Lily using her fists; a perfect duo.

       On the Fourth of July, Fred returned to the apartment with a sack of groceries held by bloodied hands and split knuckles. As he entered, he spotted today's copy of The Quibbler torn the pieces on the floor. That meant someone from the list was found dead. Lily emerged from the bedroom with the solemn expression he knew she would have.

       "Two people were found dead last night: Patrick Hennessy and his eight-year-old son – the wife, Sara Hennessy, is still missing." She put on a blank expression on her face when she crossed another name off of the checklist. Of the dozens of missing people reported, very few of them were found and when they were, it was indirectly linked to the young couple. Fred understood his girlfriend's need to justify leaving everyone to fend for themselves by helping to find the missing. He just hoped it was doing more good that bad.

       She eyed his bloodied hands, "Is that blood?"

       "No?"

      "That's not a question you're supposed to answer with another question."

      "I got into an altercation with a Snatcher." said Fred as he stocked the refrigerator with milk, eggs and other cold foods. "He didn't win."

       Beyond the closed drapes, the sky was still dark as night and day fought just a little longer. There was no sign of the sun but even if there was, it had not shown itself from behind the blanket of clouds in weeks. The gloomy weather only increased the despair in the air -- it was contagious.