The sky was dark and cloudy, thunder illuminating the group occasionally. Ellie's heart raced as she looked over to Tonks, who was quietly flying ahead of her, leading the way to the Burrows.

It was quiet. Too quiet. Ellie felt uneasy not knowing of her girlfriend's location, considering the danger and increasing threat of transferring the Chosen One.

Suddenly, dozens dark figures whooshed around the group, cloaked in black robes and hidden behind the terrifyingly familiar masks.

"Which one?"

"Where are you?"

"He's on your right!"

"He's over there!"

These voices circled the group, shouting out suggestions as to which Harry was the real one. The situation escalated quickly as Ellie immediately withdrew her wand, sending hexes to the incoming Death Eaters.

"Ellie! Stay close to me!" Tonks yelled out as she increased her speed to dodge their enemies.

Ellie threw a few hexes at the cloaked figures, successfully throwing them off their broom. She dodged a blast of green light by mere inches, in turn, sending a petrifying curse to the Death Eater as he fell to the ground. She noticed a blur of white falling quickly, its wings limp and unmoving. Ellie recognized it to be Hedwig, Harry's owl.

Ellie was suddenly hit with a striking force of someone's shoulder along with a sharp blade, throwing her off balance. As she tried to regain herself, Ellie found that Tonks was nowhere to be seen. She scanned the dark clouds for any sign of the woman but came up empty. Another burst of green green light was fired her way, Ellie ducking her head.

Ellie pursued the darkness, following what she hoped to be the right direction. Few moments passed, and she found herself nearing the familiar home of the Weasley's. Just as she landed, Fred and Arthur arrived, seeming to have apparated their way back.

Ellie was immediately met with the tight embrace of Hermione, who had a panicked expression on her face. She winced slightly as Hermione squeezed her side, feeling blood draw, though she didn't dare say.

"Goodness, I was worried," Hermione sighed in relief. "Tonks didn't show with you."

Ellie breathed heavily, the right side of her body pained from the Death Eater's doing.

"It's okay, I'm safe now," Ellie reassured to her girlfriend, scanning the group for everyone.

"Where's George?" Arthur asked breathlessly, his smile disappearing from his face.

Having heard him, Ellie's face grew worried, her eyes searching for Fred's brother. She ran into the Burrow, stopping dead in her tracks as she saw George laying on one of the couches, his ear severely mutilated, shining in red blood. A horrified expression overcame Ellie, her eyes wide with shock.

Fred and their father pushed past Ellie, with Fred immediately kneeling beside his brother.

"How you feeling, Georgie?" Fred asked as Molly stroked through George's hair comfortingly.

"Saint-like," George responded.

A wave of confusion washed over the group, looking to each other for context.

"Come again?" Fred questioned.

"Saint-like. I'm holy. I'm holey, Fred. Get it?" George joked with a smile as he pointed to his mangled ear.

A smile played at Fred's mouth, along with everyone else.

"The whole wide world of ear-related humor and you go for 'I'm holey.' That's pathetic," Fred countered as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Reckon I'm still better-looking than you."

Bill stepped forward solemnly. "Mad-Eye's dead."

Everyone had gone quiet, any trace of happiness wiped from their faces.

"Mundungus took one look at Voldemort and Disapparated," Bill continued.

The group stayed there for a moment in silence, remembering those who had fallen. Bill was the first to leave, retreating to another part of the house, followed by Fleur. Soon enough, almost everyone had cleared out, leaving only Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Ellie, and Hermione.

Ellie knelt down besides George, taking Fred's place.

"Now we're twins," George joked to Ellie.

Ellie raised an eyebrow, confused at what he was implying.

"Seems like I'm not the only one who took a hit," George explained, gesturing his head to Ellie's arm.

Ellie had almost forgotten about the pain, glancing down at her blood-drenched sleeve. A long gash covered her upper arm, sliced open by a thin blade.

Hermione immediately took attention to her girlfriend, examining the wound carefully.

"My love, what happened?" Hermione exclaimed, unaware of Mrs. Weasley's presence. Upon realizing, Hermione's cheeks turned a deep shade of red, turning away from the mother.

Mrs. Weasley gave a small smile to Ellie, choosing to ignore what she heard. She made her way to the Hufflepuff, holding a clean, damp towel.

"Goodness, dear. What ever happened to you?" the woman asked as she dabbed at the wound with the towel, absorbing its blood.

"Not sure, really. Got separated from Tonks when a Death Eater sliced into me. From there, it was all just a blur."

"It's quite deep, though you don't seem to be in pain," Mrs. Weasley commented.

Ellie glanced at her girlfriend, who took notice of her ring. Ellie gave a wink to Hermione, making her shake her head as a smile crept on her face.

"High pain tolerance," Ellie lied as the woman finished cleaning up the blood.

"Why don't you go and clean yourself up upstairs?" Mrs. Weasley suggested as she made her way to the sink to wash the blood off the towel.

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you," Ellie thanked politely as she made her way upstairs, followed by Hermione.

Ellie climbed the stairs to the bathroom, letting Hermione in along with her. Hermione closed the door behind her, withdrawing her wand.

"Would you like me to heal that for you?" Hermione asked as Ellie pulled her top over her head to reveal the wound.

Ellie examined the gash in the mirror, the blade seeming to have formed a deep fault that took the entire length from her shoulder to elbow. She rested both her hands on the counter, leaning forward as she looked at Hermione through the mirror.

"I think I'll pass this time. It doesn't quite hurt," Ellie said. "Plus, I think it makes me look badass, don't you think?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as she put her wand back into her pocket. She wrapped her warm hands around Ellie's bare stomach, embracing her from behind. She began to kiss Ellie's neck softly, gazing in her girlfriend's eyes in the mirror.

"Why is it that you always get hurt?" Hermione mumbled.

"Guess I'm just unlucky," Ellie said simply as she placed her hands over Hermione's.

Hermione didn't say anything but continued to pepper Ellie's neck with kisses. She began to increase her intensity, sucking on the skin as she left a variety of bruises. She ran her hands up Ellie's nearly bare torso, stopping them to hover over her bra clasp.

"Not tonight, my love," Ellie apologized.

Hermione understood, though pouted slightly in disappointment. Hermione wrapped her arms around Ellie once more, this time resting her chin on the Hufflepuff's shoulder.

"You know, protection ring and all, I'll still be here to protect you," Hermione said softly.

Ellie's lips curled into a smile at her words, her cheeks tinted a slight shade of pink.

"I'm so in love with you, Granger," Ellie chuckled as she turned around to face her girlfriend, resting her hands on the Gryffindor's shoulders.

"Likewise, Evans," Hermione said with a smile as she kissed her girlfriend passionately, caressing Ellie's back in the process.

The rest of the night consisted of heartfelt comments, even after the both of them had retreated to Ginny's room. Though the night's events were uneasy, the two lovers attempted to stay positive, snogging each other to take their mind off of things.