black and white ✰ g.w.

CHAPTER TWO

It was eerily quiet without everyone there, not helping to ease the nerves of those at the Burrow. Olivia had settled herself by a window, checking the time on her wristwatch far more times than was necessary, anxiously waiting on the time at which the pairs would be taking their Portkeys back to the Burrow. A few times, she even checked the Weasleys' grandfather clock which showed the whereabouts of each of the members of the family, but since all of the hands had been stuck at 'mortal peril' for ages now, there was no use in checking it any further.

The first pair due to arrive back was Ron and Tonks, but as a blue glow shown through the windows and everybody watched, they only saw the Portkey materialize by itself.

"I knew it," said Jade, breaking the anxious silence. "They must have been ambushed."

"Don't talk like that," said Helena.

"It's the only explanation, Mum. It was a simple plan; if everything went smoothly, they should've been able to get to their safehouse in time to catch their Portkey."

"To be fair, Ron and Tonks aren't the most punctual people," Ginny pointed out. "They could have just missed it for one reason or another."

"They're fine," Arabella blurted out. "They'll be here."

There was a moment of silence that was broken by Evelyn asking, "Who should be arriving next?"

"Arthur and Fred," Molly answered.

"In one minute," Olivia added, once again checking her watch.

The one minute seemed to drag on forever, and at the end of it, a Portkey once again materialized on the lawn by itself, causing everyone's anxiety to skyrocket. It looked like Jade was right: the Death Eaters had caught up with them at some point, likely resulting in a battle. They could only hope that no one on their side was seriously hurt or killed.

The next pair due to arrive back was Harry and Hagrid, and because Harry was the reason that all of this was necessary in the first place, everyone was especially anxious to know if he and Hagrid would arrive when they were supposed to. Thankfully, when their Portkey materialized, so did they, allowing everyone to let out a sigh of relief that it hadn't all been for nothing. Ginny, Arabella, and Molly rushed out of the house to speak to the two while everyone else watched out of the windows. They could see from that distance that Harry looked a bit beat up, but other than that, he and Hagrid appeared perfectly fine.

Once seeing that Harry and Hagrid were all right, Olivia settled back down in her original spot on the sofa, but soon became anxious all over again when she realized that George and Remus were due back any moment now. She hadn't realized that she was bouncing her leg out of anxiety until Oliver sat down next to her.

"I'm sure he's fine, Liv," he reassured her.

Olivia just looked at him. "No, you're not," she said before looking away again.

Molly and Hagrid entered the house and confirmed that they had indeed been ambushed; apparently, they had just lifted off of the ground when the Death Eaters had them surrounded.

The fourth blue glow shown through the windows and as soon as Olivia saw it in the corner of her eye, she jumped up out of her seat and rushed to the entrance of the house, where the door was open. She stopped in her tracks, however, when she saw the state her fiancé was in.