Discovery

90.

Ron and Tonks arrived, and Bill and Fleur shortly after. But there was no happy reunion, because Bill brought bad news: Mad-Eye Moody was dead.

After waiting for hours, there was still no sign of my parents. Fred stayed up with me, but it seemed hopeless. I leaned against his shoulder, my eyes getting heavier by the second...

Suddenly, Fred was shaking me awake.

"Ella! Get up!"

I opened my eyes to see Sirius standing over one of the couches. Someone was lying down, blood covering their face...

Mum...

I stood up in an instant.

"What happened?" I exclaimed. Mrs. Weasley hurried in with a wet cloth, handing it to Sirius with a grim look on her face.

No one said a word.

"What happened?!" I repeated, louder than before.

"She was cursed, with the same spell that cursed George." Mrs. Weasley said sadly. "She'll be alright, but it gave us quite the scare."

Tears fell down my cheeks. Fred rubbed my back. Sirius dabbed at Mum's face, trying desperately to stop the bleeding.

"Where was she? Where were you?" I asked Sirius.

"I was going to Disapparate after you all took off. But then I saw the Death Eaters arrive, and I wanted to go help." he said, his eyes fixed on Mum. "I didn't have anything to fly on, so I went back to Grimmauld Place to get a broom. By the time I came back, there wasn't a Death Eater in sight. I found Lyra lying on the grass a mile or two from Harry's uncle's house."

"I should have gone back to look for her..." I sighed. "I can't believe I just left her there."

Sirius looked up at me suddenly. "No. You did the right thing. Death Eaters could have been lingering. I'm sure your mother would be glad that you went to safety."

She may be glad, but I'm not, I thought angrily.

***

Shock and denial lingered throughout the Burrow for days after that dreadful night. Mum slowly recovered, but a large scar stretching from her forehead to her chin remained.

One morning, I woke up to shouting coming from downstairs. I tiptoed out of Ginny's room and sat on the stairs, where I could see Sirius and my mother arguing with Harry.

"You will do no such thing!" Mum frowned. "You're just a child!"

"Dumbledore asked me!" Harry said frustratedly. "I don't expect you to understand—"

"Surely Dumbledore didn't expect three young wizards to complete this dangerous mission!" she sighed. "You will not be dropping out of school to get yourself killed!"

"You can't stop me." Harry shook his head. "You don't know when I'm leaving. You don't know anything."

And with that, he walked away, leaving my parents in a state of disbelief.

"He's just like James..." Sirius mumbled at last.

"Reminds me of you sometimes, too." Mum said, wrapping her arms around Sirius' neck. "Are we really letting him do this?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Sirius said, putting a hand on my mother's back. "He'll leave whether we allow it or not."

"I just don't want to lose him..."

"Neither do I..."

I decided they needed additional comfort, so I hurried down the stairs and wrapped my arms around them.