𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴 (6th year)

The Chosen Twins

Amelia Pov:

I don't remember if I had ever been to a funeral. There was none for Sirius. I watched as Harry broke up with Ginny, and she understood why. And I wanted that, for Draco to understand, for him to be on my side, and for him to wait for me. For Us. Harry and I both got up to leave immediately but someone stopped us, calling out our names.

We turned. Rufus Scrimgeour was limping, leaning on a walking stick to us. "I've been hoping to have a word . . . do you mind if I walk a little way with you?"

"No," said Harry, and we began to walk again past all the rows of chairs that were filled with people staring at us.

"Harry, Amelia, this was a dreadful tragedy," said Scrimgeour, with a low voice. "I can't tell you how shocked I was to hear of this. Dumbledore was a great wizard. Even though we had our disagreements, no one knows better than I —"

"What do you want?" I asked him.

He looked at me annoyed. "You are both devastated," he said. "You were very close to Dumbledore. I think you twins may have been his favorite students ever. The bond between the three of you —"

"What do you want?" I repeated, Harry and I coming to a halt. Scrimgeour stopped too, leaned on his stick, and stared at us, his expression astute. "The word is that you were with him when he left the school the night that he died."

"Whose word?" Asked my brother.

"Somebody Stupefied a Death Eater after Dumbledore died. There were two broomsticks up there. The Ministry can add two and two."

"I am very glad to hear that," I said. "Where we went and what we did is our business. He didn't want people to know."

"Your loyalty is admirable, Amelia," said Scrimgeour, "but Dumbledore is gone. He is very gone."

"He will only be gone from the school when none here are loyal to him," said Harry, smiling in spite of himself.

"My dear boy . . . even Dumbledore cannot return from the —"

"I am not saying he can. You wouldn't understand. We have got nothing to tell you."

Scrimgeour hesitated, then spoke, "The Ministry can offer you all sorts of protection, you know, Harry. I would be delighted to place a couple of my Aurors at your service —"

I laughed, "Voldemort wants to kill me himself, a few amateur Aurors won't stop him. So thanks for the offer, but no thanks."

"So," said Scrimgeour, his voice cold, "the request I made of you two at Christmas —"

"What request? Oh yeah . . . the one where I tell the world what a great job you're doing in exchange for —"

"— for raising everyone's morale!" snapped the minister.

"Have you released Stan Shunpike yet?" I asked him. The minister turned a nasty purple color that reminded me of our Uncle Vernon.

"I see you are —"

"Dumbledore's man through and through," said Harry. "That's right."

"I am angry at this dreadful situation." The minister said. "I would say. . .more angry than you, your brother, hell even the dark lord."

"You do not get to be more angrier than me." I yell. "Or Harry." Scrimgeour glared at me and Harry for another moment, then turned and limped away without another word.

"Oi, Scrimgeour." I said and walked closer to him as he turned around. I punched him. My fist collided into his face.

"Fuck you," I hissed and spat at him."fuck all of this."

I could see Percy and the rest of the Ministry delegation, who had been casting nervous glances at the sobbing Hagrid and Grawp look at us. Ron and Hermione were hurrying toward us. We turned and walked slowly on, waiting for them to catch up. They finally did in the shade of a beech tree under which they had sat in happier times.

"What did Scrimgeour want?" Hermione whispered.

"Same as he wanted at Christmas," shrugged Harry. "Wanted us to give him inside information on Dumbledore."

Ron seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, then he said loudly to Hermione, "Look, let me go back and hit Percy like Amelia hit Scrimgeour!"

"No," she said firmly, grabbing his arm.

Harry started laughing, "Amelia hit Scr-" he couldn't finish his sentence. Ron did too. I laughed with them. Even Hermione grinned, though her smile faded once she looked up at the castle.

"I can't bear the idea that we might never come back here," she said softly. "How can Hogwarts close?"

"Maybe it won't," said Ron. "We're not in any more danger here than we are at home, are we? Everywhere's the same now. I'd even say Hogwarts is safer, there are more wizards inside to defend the place. What d'you reckon, Amelia, Harry?"

"I'm not coming back even if it does reopen," I say.

Ron gaped at him, but Hermione said sadly, "I knew you were going to say that. But then what will you do?"

"We're going back to the Dursleys' once more, because Dumbledore wanted us to," said Harry. "It'll be a short visit, and then we will be gone. . . for good."

"But where will you go if you don't come back to school?"

"Godric's Hollow," I muttered. I had the idea in my head ever since Dumbledore died. "It started there, all of it. I've just got a feeling I need to go there. And Harry and I can visit our parents' graves."

"Then what?" said Ron.

"Then me and Amelia have got to track down the rest of the Horcruxes," said Harry, his eyes staring deep upon Dumbledore's white tomb. "That's what he wanted me to do. If Dumbledore was right there are still four of them out there. Me and Amelia have got to find them and destroy them."

"And then we've got to go after the seventh bit of Voldemort's soul, the bit that's still in his body. I'm the one who's going to kill him. And if I meet Severus Snape along the way," I added, "so much the better for me, so much the worse for him." There was a long silence. The crowd had almost dispersed now.

"We'll be there," said Ron.

"What?"

"At your aunt and uncle's house," said Ron. "And then we'll go with you wherever you're going."

"No —" said Harry quickly;

I was trying to tell them that this was dangerous and Harry and I were going to be doing this alone.

"You said to us once before," said Hermione quietly, "that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We've had time, haven't we?"

"We're with you whatever happens," said Ron. "But, you're both going to have to come round my mum and dad's house before we do anything else, even Godric's Hollow."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Bill and Fleur's wedding, remember?"

Harry looked at him, startled,shocked;the idea that anything as normal as a wedding could still exist was. . . I didn't know how to explain it. . .In spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path i saw ahead, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort that must come, I felt my heart lift at the thought of having one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Harry, Hermione and Ron.