𝑺𝑶𝑳𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑬 [𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑹𝒀 𝑷𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹/𝑻𝑾𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻]

𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝑆𝑇𝑅𝑂𝑁𝐺 𝑂𝑁𝐸

The next few hours were a blur to Gwen. Her carefully planned and urgent messages had gone out and she had no idea if they had reached the people they meant to reach. She found herself shaking occasionally, unable to process the mix of anger, hurt, frustration, and fear of what had just happened.

She kept Ron in a deep slumber, hoping he didn't have anyone tracking him or people placed nearby to ambush them. She knew if someone came for Ron, she would be in no place to fight. She was still weak from her injuries and Alex's wand didn't have a strong enough bond to her.

If anyone attacked, she would for sure be dead.

The sun began to set as she came to the realization that Harry would not return. As angry as she was, she had no idea how she would get out of the hiding place without help. And as more time passed, she couldn't believe he would leave her alone like that! He knew she was vulnerable!

She fumed as she paced around the room, knowing fully well she needed to save her energy. Despite everything that happened, she needed to find a way to get Ron back to the Republic. They all needed to know what happened and Ron was their star witness.

With Ron's help, they would have a chance to fix this.

She turned her heels away from the red-head, as she couldn't bare to look at him. She was true to her word, this time there would be no mercy or holding back from the wrath of all of the people he harmed.

Along with the anger she was holding for the man before her, a part of her also held a frustrating anger for the man who left. A part of her needed Harry to return and help her clean this mess up. But she would never admit that. At least, not out loud. So instead, she grew angrier as she felt helpless without a working wand or a way to safely get out of there.

But as twilight set, her first answers began to pop in. The first, came in Alex's patronus that stated to know her immediate location. Gwen sent one back quickly, as within seconds, Rhea, Orla, and Alex Apparated to her location.

"Where is he?" Orla asked immediately, as Gwen knew there would be no pleasantries.

"On the couch" Gwen said, as she felt the piercing pairs of six eyes looking down on her.

"Who else knows about this?" Rhea asked her, her face still as stone showing no emotion. Gwen had seen the look before, if you didn't know it, you would think it was a classic centaur stoic face. But this was different. It was a look of war.

"Us four, Edward Cullen, Cal Lawrence and Harry Potter."

"Too many people" Rhea growled. "You know better than this."

"I trust Edward and Ca--"

"Too many people, too many chances of this getting out" Rhea stated, gazing at Gwen as though wondering if her mind had truly healed.

"The Cullens needed to know. Cal can protect them. They are the next targets after all."

"And how is Potter involved?" Orla asked, a look of surprise running through her face as she looked around the room. "Is he not here?"

"No," Gwen heard herself say, as Alex's eyes widened questioningly. "He brought me to Ron."

"Well, where is he?" Alex demanded. "He just left you here, defenseless?!"

"What matters now is that we have Ron," Gwen said, her face perfectly composed. "We'll deal with everything else later."

"What matters now is that we leave this place" Orla said, as she reached out her hand towards them. "We need to begin to plan, we need to know everything."