Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [7]

⚡️ Chapter 14 ⚡️

All five of them descended into the kitchen, where Vega pointed her wand at the grate. A fire sprang up instantly: It gave the illusion of cosiness to the stark stone walls and glistened off the long wooden table. Lupin pulled a few butterbeers from beneath his traveling cloak and they sat down. Vega looked toward her brother-in-law with intrigue.

"I'd have been here three days ago but I needed to shake off the Death Eater tailing me," Lupin said. "So, you came straight here after the wedding?"

"No," Vega responded. "Only after we ran into a couple of Death Eaters in a café on Tottenham Court Road," She watched as Lupin slopped most of his butterbeer down his front.

"What?" Lupin asked.

They explained what had happened; when they had finished, Lupin looked aghast.

"But how did they find you so quickly?" Lupin asked. "It's impossible to track anyone who Apparates, unless you grab hold of them as they disappear,"

"That is also what I'm wondering," Vega answered. "I mean, it doesn't seem likely they were just strolling down Tottenham Court Road at the time, does it?"

"We wondered," Hermione said tentatively. "Whether Harry could still have the Trace on him?"

"Impossible," Lupin said. "Apart from anything else, they'd know for sure Harry was here if he still had the Trace on him, wouldn't they? But I can't see how they could have tracked you to Tottenham Court Road, that's worrying, really worrying," He looked disturbed.

"Tell us what happened after we left," Harry said and Vega nodded quickly. "We haven't heard a thing since Ron's dad told us the family was safe,"

"Well, Kingsley saved us," Lupin replied. "Thanks to his warning most of the wedding guests were able to Disapparate before they arrived,"

"Were they Death Eaters or Ministry employees?" Vega questioned.

"A mixture; but to all intents and purposes they're the same thing now," Lupin said. "There were about a dozen of them, but they didn't know you two were there, Harry, Vega. Arthur heard a rumour that they tried to torture your whereabouts out of Scrimgeour before they killed him; if it's true, he didn't give you away,"

Vega looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione; their expressions reflected the mingled shock and gratitude she felt. She had never liked Scrimgeour much, but if what Lupin said was true, the man's final act had been to try to protect Vega and Harry, and she could respect that. She just hated the fact that someone else had yet again given their life for her.

"The Death Eaters searched the Burrow from top to bottom," Lupin went on. "They found the ghoul, but didn't want to get too close – and then they interrogated those of us who remained for hours. They were trying to get information on you two, Vega, Harry, but of course nobody apart from the Order knew that you had been there.

"At the same time that they were smashing up the wedding, more Death Eaters were forcing their way into every Order-connected house in the country. No deaths," He added quickly, forestalling the question. "But they were rough. They burned down Dedalus Diggle's house, but as you know he wasn't there, and they used the Cruciarus Curse on Tonks's family –"

A gasp left Vega's lips and her grey eyes widened as she stared at Lupin – "What are you saying –?!"

"They were trying to find out where you went after you visited them," Lupin informed her but Vega clutched her fists tightly, looking away to keep calm despite how fast her heart was beating. "They're all right, Vega – shaken, obviously, but otherwise okay,"

"The Death Eaters got through all those protective charms?" Harry asked.

"What you've got to realise, Harry, is that the Death Eaters have got the full might of the Ministry on their side now," Lupin said. "They've got the power to perform brutal spells without fear of identification or arrest. They managed to penetrate every defensive spell we'd cast against them, and once inside, they were completely open about why they'd come,"