Discovery

23.

"Get up! Girls— come on, get up! This is urgent!"

I sat up quickly to find Mr. Weasley standing in our bunkroom, looking panicked.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"No time— just grab a jacket and get outside— quickly!"

I hurried outside in my pajamas. As I looked around, I saw a few fires still burning, odd flashes of light, and heard noises like gunfire.

When I peeked over top of the tents, I saw a crowd of wizards with dark cloaks and hoods, and I couldn't see their faces. But I knew who they were.

Death Eaters.

"We're going to help the Ministry!" Mr. Weasley shouted. "You lot— get into the woods and stick together. I'll come fetch you when we've sorted this out!"

Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Mr. Weasley sprinted away.

"C'mon," said Fred, grabbing Ginny's hand and pulling her towards the wood.

We reached the trees and watched as the crowd grew larger.

"Ouch!" Ron yelped in pain. Hermione flashed her wand light in his direction. "Tripped over a tree root," he said angrily.

"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," said a drawling voice from behind us.

I tried to turn around, but suddenly a hand grabbed my arm.

"Ella, hurry up! We can't lose you!" Fred said.

Fred continued to drag me farther into the woods. When I looked over my shoulder once more, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were out of sight.

We finally came to rest against a couple of trees, far away from the crowds. Fred finally released my arm, and I shot him a nasty look.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"You dragged me away from Harry, Ron, and Hermione!" I said. "Now they're gone! Who knows what could happen to them!"

I watched as Fred, George, and Ginny went pale.

"They couldn't have gotten far..." George muttered.

"Yeah, I'm sure they'll turn up..." Fred finished. Though I noticed that he seemed very uneasy.

"Oh, they'll be fine!" Miranda scoffed. "Wasn't Harry the one to defeat the most evil wizard of all time? And he was a baby! Honestly, you guys have no faith in him."

No one said anything in response.

"Well that's it! If you all are going to sit here and mope, I'll go look for them!" Miranda turned around and stormed in the direction of the campsite.

"Miranda! No!" I yelled. I tried to run after her, but my foot got caught in a tree root and I fell right on my face.

"Ella!" Fred hurried over to me.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked me.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Fred cut in.

"I'll be fine, okay?" I said shortly.

I sat down against a tree, and Fred quickly joined me.

I leaned my head on Fred's shoulder, and he patted my head comfortingly.

"You know, I don't like it when your hair is silver," he said quietly.

"Why?" I asked.

"It means you're scared,"