The Big Dipper

The Kidnap at King's Cross

"You're back!" shouted Genevieve, dropping the buckets she was carrying when she saw Ursula and running forward, throwing her arms around Ursula's neck.

"Hello to you too," said Ursula, hugging her back.

"Bloody hell, you look exhausted," said Evan, shaking her hand. Genevieve elbowed him in the stomach.

"That's not a very nice thing to say!" she chastised.

"It's alright," assured Ursula. "My vacation was... not as relaxing as I had hoped."

"My Maman and Papa thought I was mad for getting English newspapers," said Genevieve, linking her arm with Ursula as they walked back to the tents. "But I just had to keep up with the news!"

"You won't find much of it in the paper," said Ursula, before she could stop herself. Genevieve frowned. "It's being censured."

"They say the Minister resigned," said Genevieve. "Is that not true?"

Ursula hesitated.

"No," she said, "no, he was... forced out of office, you could say."

"Oh," said Genevieve. "Well, I must get back, but we have to catch up at dinner!"

Ursula nodded, smiling at her, but the smile fell as soon as she was gone. Life at the sanctuary felt so utterly normal that she wasn't sure she could adjust. The depth of her troubles were made painfully clear that night when she woke up around two in the morning, as she always seemed to nowadays, only this time she was screaming.

"Ursula!" It was Charlie standing over her, looking pale and slightly freaked out. "Are you alright?"

He helped her to sit up. Ursula took a series of deep, calming breaths as she adjusted to her surroundings. She wasn't in Corvus Manor. She wasn't in Fred's flat. She wasn't in Fred's arms. She was in the sanctuary, in her tent.

"I had a nightmare, that's all," said Ursula at last. "Go back to bed."

"I can't, I'm on night watch, and anyway, I'm not leaving until I'm sure you're okay," said Charlie firmly.

"I'm fine," said Ursula, irritated. "Really, Charlie, I'm fine."

"How long has this been going on?" pushed Charlie.

"I've never woken up screaming before, if you must know," said Ursula, crossing her arms. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I'll make you some tea before I go," insisted Charlie.

"That's very kind," said Ursula. She sipped her tea, finding the warmth soothing, and managed, for once, to go back to sleep. In the morning, Charlie didn't press her for more details, thankfully, and she didn't give any. She had gotten so used to sleeping beside Fred that it felt strange to sleep alone again.

Ursula spent the next few days in a state of sleep-deprived adjustment. She had settled back into her routine — Thor was jovial upon her return, and Persephone was so thrilled to see her that she didn't let Ursula leave her pen for two and a half hours — and threw herself wholeheartedly into her work, if only to avoid feelings of guilt or despair. There was an awkward lack of news coming out of England, due to the Dark Lord's control over the Ministry and the Daily Prophet, and though Fred kept her informed of the Order's movements and Hadrian about the Death Eaters, the lack of any real developments on either side made Ursula uneasy.

The only real news she received in the following couple of weeks was from Tonks. It seemed that Remus was not as excited about fatherhood as she hoped, to the point where he had spent three nights away. Upon his return, he admitted trying to join Harry, Ron, and Hermione on what presumably was a quest of sorts, as Ursula knew they wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts. Ursula was positively fuming.