[IC] No Longer the Lost, No Longer the Same

[SirensCall]

Reserved for AutumnFrost It felt like it had been years since Bill and Fleur's wedding, but the truth of it was, it had been months, two months to be exact, but it didn't change the fact that everything had changed. Just a week earlier, news of two witches turning the Muggle Born Registration Commission into a battlefield that allowed them to escape had filtered into the Order. But that wasn't the curious part, not at all. What was curious was the fact that just the next day, Remus Lupin had found files of the two girls that Albus Dumbledore had left behind himself. They were important, from the details, and from what the Order had gathered, Death Eaters were hot on the witches' heels as well. So, after a few hours of heavy debate, Fred and George were assigned the task with their elder brother, Charlie, to find these strangers and bring them to the Order. There they would be offered protection, food, company, and when the time was right, the Order would ask these girls one thing. To help with the war effort. It had been no secret that it was going to be a hard task for the three Weasley men, but Fred and George were glad for the tips they had and one other big thing. One vital detail. They had Charlie. Fred And George may have been notorious for pranks and trying to keep a good air about, but they were damn good wizards. Now, we're they good with tracking, or good in forests full of creatures they didn't know, or tracking in said forests. Sadly, they were no experts there, but Charlie was a dragon trainer for Merlin's sake! That had to count for something. Still the last nearly two weeks had been wearing on the twins.as they roughed it through the dense brush with their brother. They were dirty, scratched ad bruised. And frustrated. "How snatchers caught these two to begin with is beyond me." Fred grumbled as he swatted flies from his face. "No kidding, Freddy." George agreed, "We are way smarter and more clever than those trolls." The identical heads of fiery hair moved almost in sync as they walked on. They had gotten a tip the previous night that the girls were likely to be in this forest, but it was huge! Fred peered forward to Charlie, who the twins gladly allowed to take point, and ran his fingers through his hair. George spoke, "I wonder what is so special about them. The files really just gave us names and pictures." Fred gave a nod, "No kidding. They have to be barmey to wander into places like this." George sighed, "Not to mention they are probably manic, if the Ministry got turned upside down when they escaped." "Upheavals. Good for news, bad for.whoever caused them." Fred said, his eyes falling onto George's lack of an ear. He still felt guilty for it, but he couldn't do anything about it now. He quickly looked ahead, seeing that they were losing light quickly. George let out a disgruntled groan as he nearly tripped over a root. "Charlie, you think we're close?" He.took note at how Fred rubbed his left side. They had a run in with some snatchers a few days prior and Fred had.gotten the wrong end of a hex. Granted, the three outwitted and out did the snatchers, having had them off their trail for a while now. Still, there was no way these witches had been hidden this well if they didn't know ahead of time or something. All it felt like was a circle, that they had been walking in circles, but soon Fred heard water. "D'you hear that?" George nodded. "A river? Perhaps they have taken to it. Or relatively nearby. Need water for a lot of things." Their frustration had made their normal banter dull out, and George gave a hopeful look to Charlie. Please say he actually had a good idea. Not that the good ones weren't all his, but he was blind when it came to this stuff. Please say they were close , for the love of Merlin's beard.

[StarfrostedFox]

Did the twins ever stop talking? Charlie Weasley cast a rueful glance over one of his broad shoulders at the identical pair trailing behind, the two keeping up a steady, if slightly lackluster , stream of banter and commentary between them, occasionally tossing a question or statement in his direction. If they kept it up for much longer, the girls they were tracking would alert to the trios presents miles before they would be able to catch sight of the runaways... which would consequently extend their pleasant little hiking trip into several more weeks Charlie really didn't mind his brothers' playful lightheartedness with which they met life, the Deatheaters, Snatchers, and, Hell, the entire world, really.. He encouraged it at every posssibility, but he did hope that they both would put a lid on it when he asked them to. Because he really, really, didn't want to spend another month trekking through the forest rough, not that he minded such a situation under normal circumstances, but he didn't want to risk running into another friendly group of snatchers. The idea of the last group they had encountered had his skin crawling and an uncomfortable tingle of pain shooting through his ear lobe where one blasted fool had managed to tear out the fang earring he normally wore and the redhead gingerly fingered the half healed wound before dropping his hand with a resigned sigh and trailing eyes the color of sunlit rootbeer up to gauge the location of the sun between the overhanging branches and then dropping them back down to search for the telltale signs of someone's passage he had been following. "Shouldn't be that much farther to go." He murmured in response to Fred's, or maybe it was George's, question. He hadn't been looking at the time to be completely sure which had actually asked the question. Straightening up from a squat he had crouched into to get a better look at a broken stem on a plant, Charlie brushed the palms of his hands briefly across the front of his pants before glancing over at the twins. "But if you two don't stop talking soon, we aren't going to be finding them until next spring." He teased with a broad grin. "you're right though," he continued on, Pointing out the broken plant and the partial impression of a passing foot. "They're heading in the direction of the river. Most likely they will be trying to find a cave or some hollow they can camp in." He observed, running his hand across his generously freckled forehead before giving a brief sigh. "keep her eyes open for anything that looks like sparks or fire. The weather has been threatening to change all day and we might be getting our first cold snap tonight." With a groan and a roll of his eyes that pretrade just exactly how he felt about that, Charlie gave his brothers another momentary smile before he readjusted the straps of his backpack and started off in the direction of the river, the sound growing louder with each step.

[SirensCall]

It was a bit of hope. Perhaps a small bit, but it was enough for the twins who happily obliged to their brother's request to be quiet. Perhaps it wasn't a formal request, but they got the gist of it from how he was talking. Their smiled illuminated their faces near simultaneously, and they picked up their pace a bit. One they laid eyes on the river, George let out a deep sigh. Fred tossed a glance to him, but soon found himself stooping down beside the river and splashing water on his face. It was cool, but it was good for a wake up call and soon George followed in suit. Perhaps they were close now, and soon the chill came from the wind and Fred shivered a bit before digging through his knapsack, seeing George had already dug out his jacket. Fire sounded wonderful, but soon his thoughts jerked. "You smell that?" George asked, sniffing the air. His eyes were closed, and soon Fred rose an inquisitive brow. "Smells like fire." "You're barmey." Fred mumbled, by soon the faint scent carried over the next breeze into his nostrils. "Or not." Soon George began following it, not caring if his brothers were following him at this rate. He knee it may not be smart, but the fire had to be something! It had to be! - Emily's eyes were fixated warily on the fire dancing before her. She and Abby had just barely escaped the Ministry, but they did have two edges. One, Abagail Hawthorne, her only companion, was an Animorphagus. Two, Emily Tearstone was a necromancer, and one who was unafraid of using the unforgivable curses. Her deep emerald eyes hadn't left the fire for a while as she looked to the left of their small campsite where the river was. The cave was working nicely to their advantage, for the moment, and soon Emily laid eyes on her friend and spoke. "Abby, I will be back. I need to stretch my legs. All four of them." She said, her body twisting and shifting into the form of a black wolf whose eyes remained humanisticly emerald. She moved from her spot, and she knew her human form looked horrid. She hadn't dyed her hair in about a week and the grey was showing. She was dirty, and her hair, aside from greying, had been knotted so badly she just wore it up. She moved to the river, down the stream a little and lowered her head and drank, just as a wolf would, but she stopped, her ears peeking a bit. Twigs were being broken nearby, and she moves to investigate the source of the noise. A few moments into walking, even though she was thoroughly exhausted, both physically and mentally, she broke into a run, and stopped at the group she found. If they had been a threat, she would have been warned already, and the fact they we're so close alarmed her. "George!" One of two identical males hissed as he caught up, and he grabbed the man's arm. "Slow down." "Whoa." The other, who she assumed was George, said. He had laid eyes on her, and she stood, but her stance lowered and a deep growl came to her throat. They may not have been seen as a threat to the spirits who had been warning her, but she trusted very few. "Whoa, doggie." She knew better than to howl, but that annoyed her to no end. Her growl deepened, and when the one brought out his wand, her form warped back, and her hands, covered by gloves, came up, but obviously it surprised them, and she brought her wand up and took an offensive stance. "Who are you, and what business do you have here?" She asked, her wand.moving in a circle. The twins were frozen, and she was growing impatient. "Speak!" "I'm Fred Weasley, and these are my brothers George and Charlie." Fred spoke, quickly. "Freddy, it's one of them." George spoke, hushed, but Emily caught it, and she moved closer. "What are you talking about?" She demanded, "Speak!" "We're with the Order of the Phoenix." George said, and Emily's features relaxed slightly, and she looked them over. "Why are you here?" She asked. "Looking for people to help." Fred lied, smoothly. "We found a snatchers with some names and pictures." George continued. That part wasn't a lie though. They had managed to find a snatchers with those items. She didn't fully relax, and she looked to them. "Well, we'll just have to see just how truthful you are." She moved behind them. "Walk, or I will curse you. I will give you direction." She needed Abagail's judgement, as Emily knew that she was fairly biased, seeing as she wouldn't trust anyone. But the spirits made her fairly certain that bringing them to Abagail would be alright, for now. When they got to the camp, Emily whistled. "Abby! We have guests."

[StarfrostedFox]

Charlie silently allowed his brothers to slip ahead of him without any protest, light brown eyes contemplating their backs for a moment before going back to studying the surrounding forest with a faint smile. He enjoyed their ambition and eagerness , would probably go as far as saying he encouraged it, and could think of no one else he would rather have on this search and rescue mission. Readjusting the straps of his backpack that were beginning to cut into his shoulders, the red headed wizard focused his attention on the forest floor, looking for any hints of broken foliage or impressions in the dirt as they drew closer to the sound of running water. Crouching down, he lightly brushed his fingertips over a broken branch of one of the low growing bushes, pulling away an almost indiscernible thread from a dark material. With a thoughtful expression, he rolled the string between his thumb and forefinger, running his free hand over the stubble that had started growing on his cheek. A low growl rumbling from the direction of the river suddenly brought his head up sharply, Charlie's hand diving into his pocket to withdraw his wand. The wood beneath his fingers grew warm, feeling almost as if it had been left out in the sunlight, responding to its Masters touch and prepared to cast any spells called upon. Surging onto his feet and into a run the next instant later, he was out of the trees and barreling like a bull to defend his brothers before he found himself coming up short at the site of a darker than black wolf, stumbling to a halt as the Beautiful creature unexpectedly shifted into a young woman with tangled gray hair and a defensive expression upon her face. 'Bloody Hell.' Charlie felt his stomach clench with the jolt of his surprise. Nothing in the information that they had received had hinted at the fact that one of the girls they were searching for was able to change into a wolf. Though The feeling quickly diminished into a milder version as his initial shock was replaced with satisfaction is he recognized the distinctive features on the young woman's face from the pictures they discovered, he couldn't quite relaxed that last bit as she quickk fired a couple questions towards the twins while keeping her wand trained on them, obviously ready to fire off spells should the need arise. Slowly and carefully, Charlie put his own wand back into his pocket, making the motion as obvious as he could manage to help the woman relax further. Fred mentioning the Order of the Pheonix had had a surprisingly positive effect on the woman's countenance. That was a good sign. Making sure to keep his hands away from where he had stowed his wand, Charlie began to walk obediently in the direction indicated, casting a reassuring look towards his brothers and giving his head a nod. As the cave loomed into sight, Charlie risked A quick glance towards... he thought her name was Emily, and found himself saying in a low voice, "I promise that we aren't here to hurt you. Though I don't expect you to Believe me just because I say so." He gave her A slightly crooked smile. "Dumbledore seems to think that you are important enough to mention you personally." 'Staying in a cave is a little cliché.' Abigail Hawthorn found herself thinking wryly is she briskly rubbed the palms of her hands against the skin of her forearms beneath the tattered sleeves of her robes and glanced gloomily around at the rough stone. Her light blue eyes were, if possible, even more tired as she returned her gaze to the fire. After a moment's consideration, she scooted forward a few inches, crossing her arms across her knees and resting her chin against one of her fists. She then released a heavy sigh, closing her eyes as she allowed the flames to wash little shivering waves of heat over her aching body. Emily's voice a moment later cost her to open her eyes, a small smile turning up the corners of her lips. At least no matter how bad she felt, she still had her best friend and sister with her. "Be safe." She murmured a moment before the which changed her shape into a lithe she wolf, reaching out and brushing her fingertips along the soft fur on her flank before Emily wheeled around and trotted out of their little shelter. As the tip of her black tail whipped out of sight, Abigail found herself sighing again, giving a matted tuft of her dark brown hair a rueful tug. She somewhat envied the casual ease with which her friend was able to change forms, her own shape shifting capabilities on the fritz. She was also finding it taxing to use her normal Animorphmagi abilities, the natural color of her hair and eyes attesting to that. But almost at once, Abby shrugged off any feelings of jealousy, simply happy that Emily was comfortable enough around her to even show her the change. Dropping the clump of hair from her fingers, she fiddled with the end of her wand as she went back to studying the dance of the flames, contemplating where they were going to find their next meal. It felt like only seconds later when she heard Emily calling her name once again, approaching the cave in her human form by the sound of it. And by what she said, she wasn't alone. The idea had a stab of panic shooting through her limbs, Momentarily rooting her to the spot. And then Abigail sprang to her feet, pulling her wand swiftly out of her pocket and rushing towards the entrance of the cave with it held out in front of her. Concern creased her forehead as she caught sight of Emily stalking behind three redheaded men, two of which appeared to be identical twins. She bit The inside of her cheek with worry, eying each person in turn, looking for signs of a struggle. If this trio were snatchers, they were in big trouble. But if they had laid even a finger on Emily, these men would be in even bigger trouble. "...What's going on?" She asked sharply, frowning at the nearest of the twins.

[SirensCall]

These women... these witches... they were different, and it wasn't at all hard to tell from how they carried themselves. But these two, they were the witches they had been searching for over the last few weeks, and now they had found them. Now, getting them to tag along would be the hard part. The twins heard Charlie speaking to the one with hair that appeared grey, but how was that? She couldn't have been older than her mid twenties, so why the grey hair? And now they were met by another girl, her eyes tired, but she held beauty in her face, beneath the dirt and matted hair. She looked like the woman named Abagail, which was reaffirmed by the greying girl calling her Abby. She had to be Emily. The next question caused them to look at each other, and they watched as Emily stepped towards Abagail and she sighed. "I don't believe they pose a threat, but you know how I am." She admitted, "They say they're with the Order of the Phoenix. Said we were personally named as important by Dumbledore." Emily said, her eyes giving Abagail a knowing look. Emily could check into it, as much as she didn't want to. Forcing contact with a spirit had immense drawbacks, but she didn't think there was another choice. She looked to the men and back to Abagail, then her eyes drifted to their small tent, "I just need a minute, Abby." She gave her friend a knowing look as she entered the small tent. She waved her wand over her hair first, allowing the magic to dye her hair back to its normal sandy blonde color, and then she sat on the floor and closed her eyes. She had placed a muffling spell on the tent so they couldn't hear her as she spoke. She began with a chant in Latin, and once she opened her eyes, the normal emerald.color was hazy and she spoke now in English. "Dumbledore, I know you can hear me. I need your help, there are men here who say you spoke of Abagail and myself, and I cant... I won't bring myself to trust them, not after..." her voice trailed off. Soon a form appeared, but it didn't speak, it moved past Emily, as if looking outside, and a cold hand came to her shoulder. "Trust them." It spoke before disappearing and Emily let out a long sigh, but soon another form came. One she had seen countless times before. It grabbed her shoulders and shook her. Her father. "They're coming." He spoke, and soon Emily shook herself from her trance. - Fred and George watched as Emily disappeared into the small tent, so they could relax a little. Maybe. Fred spoke first, "I am Fred Weasley, and these are my brothers, George and Charlie." "You must be Abagail, right?" George asked, taking a picture and file out of his bag. The file just detailed a few important bits of information on her, like her name and genealogy. He allowed her to look at the file before he offered her a jacket too. Fred nodded. "I promise, we're just trying to help." He began, "I know it may not mean much, but it's a promise." George gave a nod before the tent flew open, and the once grey hair girl was blonde.now. "We have to get out of here, now." She said, and the twins looked baffled as Emily began packing up the campsite, and she put out the fire. She looked to the three men. "Well? Come on, are you going to help us or not?" Was that their approval? Well Fred and George nodded and began helping pack, using their wands for light. "Once you're done, we'll disapparate." Fred said. "We can't. I set up a no apparation perimeter to be safe. We have to get to the end of it. It's not too far off." Emily said. She threw her bag over her shoulder. "Abby, lead them. I will hang back and keep them busy. I'll meet you there." Fred and George rose a brow. "Them?" They asked. "The snatchers. Now, go with Abagail. I'll be alright." She said as she bounded out of the cave and the twins looked to Charlie and then to Abagail. This wasn't good. "Go after her." Fred hissed to George. "No, she told us to go with Abagail, and have you forgotten how vicious she was." He whispered back before looking to Charlie before the voices came. "Time to go." Fred said, grabbing Abagail's hand before they bounded off, "Sorry, love, for being so aggressive here, but we do needy o get out of here." George reaffirmed. - Emily ran into the forest, in the direction she had come from with the Weasleys and sure enough, there they were. The snatchers. "Lookie here. It's the Blondie. Oh, he'd be pleased if we brought her back." Her wand was at her side and soon Greyback approached through the group. "Not before we've had our fun. Where's your friend?" "Go to hell." She spat, throwing a few spells before making a hard left into the forest. She had spent time here as a child and knew she simply had to run into the clearing up ahead. The moon would be out soon, and Greyback was a werewolf... it'd be easy to escape while he went at his own team.

[StarfrostedFox]

Though she cast a still somewhat distrustful expression over the three red headed men, Abigail's gaze softened considerably as she turned her blue eyes on Emily as her friend stepped forward, much like the effect of ice melting. Her arms, already wrapped around her torso, tightened as she listened to the explanation of why the trio had been brought to their camp, rather than simply being stunned and left behind. Well... if the situation went south, she supposed they could always run for it, bitter as that thought was sitting on her tongue. Abby felt a huge shock go through her a moment later however, chasing away the thoughts of doubt and suspicion momentarily, her eyes widening.

"...Dumbledore?" She gasped in a voice that was so quiet, she could barely hear it herself. She couldn't even begin to understand why they would have been mentioned by such an important person. She barely even knew the man, wouldn't be able to give any details beyond a vague physical description and a taste of a sense of humor that had come out in his speeches at school. Pulling her lower lip between her teeth, Abigail gave it a tug, gaze sweeping over the strangers once again with a renewed interest. But before she could do much more then look at each freckled face, a darkly significant look from Emily made her back stiffen and her attention return sharply to her adopted sister's face. She knew what that expression meant, understood why weariness prematurely crossed the gray haired witch's face, And the idea had Abigail's stomach clenching with concern. Emily was going to speak with the dead. Instantly, Abigail leaned forward and collected the other woman in her arms, giving her a brief, yet tight, hug and whispering in her ear, "Don't push yourself beyond your limits. Please." And then she reluctantly released her hold and watched with concern as her friend walked away and disappeared inside the tent, once again drawing her lip between her teeth.

The foremost of the twins spoke then, drawing Abigail's attention away from the tent and the worried fluttering in her stomach. She found herself releasing her lip With a soft huff that left her breath misting in the air before her, once again wrapping her arms around herself and giving her head a shake. "yes, I'm Abigail. I would say it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance under normal circumstances, but considering the situation..." Her shoulders gave a helpless little shrug.

The second twin, George, held out something to her and she found herself instinctively flinching, though she instantly felt foolish after realizing that he was simply proffering her a few pieces of parchment. Cheeks going pink, she took the folder and flipped it open, blinking down at her own much cleaner face looking up at her and offering a shy smile. Frowning at this photograph, she quickly shoved it out of sight and studied the brief description of herself and her genealogy, a growing sensation of nausea making her stomach ache worse than ever. With a disgusted snort, she forcibly shut the folder and was just on the edge of shoving it back at George when the wizard then offered her a jacket. Somewhat taken aback by this kind gesture, Abby returned the folder in a much more civilized fashion, though she didn't hesitate to snatch the article of clothing out of his hands in a much less careful way, shoving her arms into the sleeves and releasing a sigh of relief as she pulled it tighter around herself. At that moment, she didn't care that it smelled of unfamiliar laundry detergent and strange hands, all that she was concerned with was that the jacket was considerably warmer then her tattered robes. A huge genuine smile broke out across her face, crinkling the corners of her eyes. Just as she opened her mouth to give a word of thanks however, the tent flap was thrown back forcibly, Emily reappearing and springing into action almost immediately, blonde hair flying. Without a word of protest, far used to moving out at a moments notice, Abigail wipe the smile from her face and began to hurry around the camp, snatching up her bag and pulling it onto her shoulders before she began to waive her wand around, collecting the collapsed tent and a few scattered items and sending them zooming into her bag.

"Jynx a few for me." Abigail called, giving Emily a look of no-nonsense that clearly stated that they had better see each other again soon or else. Gripping hard the hand that grabbed her's, she snatched up the other twin's hand in her free one and began to run with them through the forest, praying The entire time that her separation with Emily would not be for long.

~~~

Hands shoved deeply into his pockets, Charlie was really only half paying attention to the conversation between Abigail and the twins, his light brown eyes roaming away from them to gaze at their solitary little tent. He couldn't quite put his finger on whatwas bothering him about Emily going in there, but it was giving him the feeling that he associated with the moment right before a dragon spat a gout of fire at his head. Fingers moving to grasp his wand, he steadily began to tense his muscles, almost as if preparing to Leap out of the way at the appearance of flames. Emily burst out of the tent A moment later, her sudden appearance making Charlie both flinch with surprise and blink with confusion at the change in her appearance. Hadn't she just had a greying aged color to her hair?... Her forceful declaration that they needed to leave immediately put all of his confusion about how she looked aside however, replaced with a secondary confusion about how she would know if they needed to move then or not. Abigail didn't appear to have any doubts about the proclamation, he saw her immediately jump into action, but found himself still hesitating, eyebrows drawing together.

When Emily looked over at he, Fred, and George a moment later, a blazing look of determination on her face and asked whether or not they were going to help, Charlie found himself believing that somehow she knew that danger was approaching, even if she didn't elaborate how she knew. Perhaps she was a seer... He had never had much experience with fortunetellers, he had never been really interested in taking divination in school... Shaking off memories of the past, Charlie withdrew his wand from within his pocket, lit it, and began to help the others clearing the camp, even though there was not much work remaining.

"Snatchers are bad news no matter how you look at it." He grunted, looking between his brothers and the retreating form of Emily, who had run off before he could call her back. Making up his mind, he gestured for Fred and George to go on without him. "I'll go after Emily. You two stay with Abigail. Keep her safe. If we can't find each other again, I'll try to send word."

Wheeling sharply around, Charlie plunged into the forest at a sprint, wand raised defensively before him. When the sound of voices drifted to him through the trees, he quickly extinguished his light with a soft, "Nox." Reaching out his free hand to touch his fingertips to the bark of a tree to keep his bearings, he came to a stop to listen, straining his earrs to catch the sound of Emily's voice. But he didn't have to strain for long, her derisive shout at something one of the snatchers had said ringing out clearly before he saw several jets of light shoot out from the place her voice had emitted, illuminating her briefly and then traveling along the ground before lighting up the group of headhunters. One of them stumbled, but Charlie couldn't quite tell if they had fallen or not before the group began to pound after the retreating witch, curses flying from their wands.

"Crucio!" A brawny man near the front of the group shouted, the jet of light passing within a hairs breadth of Emily's head and ricocheting into the trees.

With a hot surge of anger, Charlie leapt from his cover and brought his wand down with a slash, bellowing, "Stupify!" Red light streaked into the unsuspecting group of snatchers, colliding squarely with the brawny man's chest, illuminating him collapsing to The ground and tripping up another man running behind him.

Retaliatory jets of multicolored lights almost instantaneously shot out from the remainder of the group, several spells coming so close that Charlie felt a couple of them ruffle his hair and sear bits of his exposed skin, even as he ducked out of the way to avoid them. Twisting around on the spot, he just managed to avoid rolling in the dirt before pushing off from the ground with one hand and into a sprint, heading in the direction that Emily had been running in, casting a few more stunning spells over his shoulder as he ran. Within a minute of weaving through the trees, his eyes caught movement near a clearing in the forest,, focusing on the figure sprinting ahead of him and realizing quickly that it was Emily, he quickly focused onto the shape several yards behind her and catching up quick. The figure was strangely hunched, all loping across the ground in a way that made Charlie's stomach turn over with apprehension. When the figure then tilted back its head and let out a howl, he felt his blood go cold.

"Emily!" He hollered in alarm. "Look out! He's right behind you!" The stunning spell he shot at the werewolf missed, Greyback leaping sideways to avoid it, and Charlie cursed loudly, pushing himself into an even faster run to try and cut the Death Eater off before he could reach is prey.

[SirensCall]

Fred and George briefly watched as Charlie headed off after Emily. He had bounded off a few moments after she had and soon the twins took off with Abagail, They weren't exactly running fast, but they weren't exactly walking either. "How big could this no Apparation perimeter be?" Fred asked, holding back a branch for Abagail and George to move past and he followed them. A howl filled their ears not long after, and George froze.

"Werewolves? That means Greyback. That means a lot of trouble." George said. "Maybe we should go find them."

Fred shook his head. "No, we need to get Abagail to safety. We can go to the safe house once we apparate. And I am sure that's where they will end up too. Charlie's strong, George, and I am sure Emily is too."

George grumbled.as he moved a branch this time and allowed Abagail to move in front of him, but soon He saw a red stream and he saw Fred move.his wand.

"Run!" He exclaimed. George nodded and he began shooting his own spells back too.

"Abagail, how much further til the end?" George asked, falling into a run beside her as Fred flanked her other side.

"We have two more on our tail. I think once Greyback turned they changed directions." Fred said.

George thought a moment. "But wasn't Scabior in his group too? Another werewolf." He asked and Fred cursed aloud, shooting back another spell.

"They'll be okay." He forced himself to say, and after five.more minutes of running and shooting spells, Fred felt a weight.lifted off of him he hadn't noticed. That had to be the end.of the perimeter. He quickly grabbed hold of Abagail and George and disapparated. The landing was far from graceful, but soon George stood and helped Abagail up, and turned to the small shack. There was a port key inside to take them to the burrow, but it would be in the morning when it reactivated.

Fred looked about and sighed. The others weren't there yet, and he looked to Abagail and George. "Let's head inside." He said, opening the shack door, and he saw a cot and a couple.of couches set up, and then there was a bedroom on the far side and a bathroom was right next to it.

George looked to Abagail, and he looked.to Fred. "I am going to wait outside for Charlie and Emily. Abagail, why not get cleaned up, we won't be able to get to the Burrow until tomorrow." He suggested, and Fred nodded.

"I'll holler at you when they get here." He assured her, opening up a linen closet and handing her a towel before he waited.outside with George.

"I hope they're okay." George said, and Fred spoke.

"They will be." Fred said.

--

Emily had heard Charlie's voice cast a spell as she ran, and though it almost comforted her to know she wasn't alone, she had to wonder why he dared to follow. She made it to the clearing, but her legs were getting weaker, and Charlie's voice got her attention and she wordlessly cast a spell that blew the werewolf back. She stopped a moment to catch her breath, but soon something was hanging over Charlie, and she shook her head. Her body reacted, and as she sprinted, her.body warped into the large black wolf.form and she tackled the werewolf and had come up behind Charlie and she snarled and growled, but it threw her back. Two werewolves and two of them.

She had landed.on her side, and she struggled to stand on her four legs, but she continued to snarl and growl, fiercely. But she could barely stand, so she warped back, and held her wand out. "Forgive me." She whispered and soon she shot a red jet out at the creature before her, and it shrieked in pain before she released her hold on the spell and watched as the werewolf ran off.

She finally got back to Charlie as another spirit appeared, it was her father again. They were coming again, and soon Emily did something She would have never done, she poke to the spirit in front of another person. "Where?"

"A safe house out in the fields of St. Ottery Catchpole." he spoke, and soon Emily saw Greyback running at them and she closed her eyes after grabbing hold of Charlie's hand and disapparated the two of them. Once they appeared in front of a small shack, Emily saw the twins, but she barely could stand and fell to the ground.

"Abagail!" Fred shouted.in the shack as he and George ran over to them. Emily just stayed on the ground, but rolled and laid on her back, and closed her eyes. Her side hurt, bad, she probably had some broken ribs which would explain her trouble breathing. She jut laid on the ground. "What happened to you two?" George asked this time.

"Snatchers." Emily spoke, breathlessly, "Werewolf snatchers."

After a moment, Emily stood, obviously struggling, but she got to her feet and looked around, forcing her body to move as she got a few meters away and began casting protective enchantments.

"Charlie, what happened?" Fred asked, and he saw how Emily barely wrote them off now. "She isn't down our throats or anything."

Emily wouldn't admit it, not yet anyway, that once she found the twins and heard them.yell for Abagail, she felt it. A small bit of her trust had been earned. And how Charlie had followed after her, and warned her, protected her even... they had earned a small bit of her trust. But It was enough for now.

[StarfrostedFox]

Somehow, seeing the other brother, Charlie, run after her friend in an attempt to help lifted a lot of the worried weight off Abigail's shoulders. Her apprehension wasn't entirely erased, he was just one wizard after all, but it allowed her the opportunity to take the matter from the forefront of her mind for the time being, allowing her to put all of her concentration on running with the twins. Heart beating frantically in her ears, she was grateful for the hands warm beneath each of her own, grateful for the strength that they provided.

"Not far now." She managed to reply to a question about the edge of the spell, ducking around an outstretched branch of a tree. "We didn't want to have it too far in case we needed to run." Of course, she hadn't been the one to set up the no apparation zone, she was terrible with those sorts of spells, so she couldn't be positive where the perimeter was exactly. But it hadn't felt like Emily had been gone long when she had been setting up the defenses earlier...

The howling of a werewolf made Abigail's blood run cold, made her miss a step and come crashing down hard on one knee, tearing her robes, and thrusting all of her worries back into her thoughts. Blue eyes going wide, she looked up at the twins with a terrified expression. But before she could open her mouth to begin the plea that sprang to her mind, Fred had already shot down the idea of going back when George brought up the idea. She found herself closing her mouth, contemplating his reassurances that Charlie and Emily were strong, tears stinging at her eyes. Yes, her friend was strong, but strong enough for this?... Blinking back the tears before they could fall, she bit down hard on her lower lip. She had to be strong too. So after getting to her feet, George's hand reassuringly placed on her arm, she didn't fight when they began to lead her into the forest once again.

A streak of red that was unmistakably a spell cast by a pursuer suddenly shot out of the trees from behind them, causing Abigail to instinctively duck and reach for her wand, a retaliatory spell shooting back over her shoulder as she waved it in an ark behind her.

"Run!" She didn't see who it was that shouted, but she didn't need telling twice before Abigail shot forward into a dead run. "Not far! I'm sure of it! " She squeaked to George when he once again asked about the distance to the perimeter, casting another spell over her shoulder as she did so.

Each slam of her foot against the forest floor sent a small jolt through her legs, snapping twigs and sending leaves in small clouds away from her, and Abby felt every step, every heartbeat, every breath, Adrenaline rushing hot into her veins. The world around her seemed to sharpen with clarity and she could feel it in her bones when she reached the edge of the spell, a lightness seeming to spread throughout her body. Then Fred was there, pulling her and George into a suffocating darkness, The sensation squeezing her until she thought she couldn't stand it anymore, before stumbling forward as they landed in A deserted clearing with a shabby little shack.

For a few long moments, Abigail simply stayed where she was, knees and hands pressed into the ground, staring at the earth beneath her fingers wordlessly. She was breathing in great deep gulps of air, a burning stitch in one side, and the feeling of tears in her eyes was beginning to prickle uncomfortably once more. Then gentle hands were helping her get to her feet and she allowed herself to be led inside the little shack, her nose tickled by the faint traces of dust and the unfamiliar scents that hung about the place. She blinked morosely around at the interior, but just managed to give George the smallest of smiles when he offered her the chance to wash up. She had no idea what the "Burrow" was, but didn't find the chance to ask before the twins had headed outside, the towel in her hands soft.

Heading slowly into the bathroom, Abby peered around curiously at the interior, excited by the site of an actual toilet and faucet, The large clawfoot bathtub in one corner tempting, but she couldn't seem to spare enough thought for it at the moment. She was far too anxious to hear news of Emily and Charlie's return to take a bath at the moment... Not to mention the fact that she didn't want the news to come when she was naked and risk the chance that she would go running outside and forget to put anything on... Pink in the cheeks at the very idea, the young which settled on relieving herself with the toilet and taking the time to scrub at her face and arms with a corner of the towel, ears pricked for any sound at the front of the building.

--

Charlie watched as Emily expertly blasted the werewolf mid-leap, the furry body flying several feet in the opposite direction. He felt himself grin with satisfaction, casting a jet of red light at the only other remaining death eater that was still human and watching him collapse unceremoniously onto the ground. He had just felt the first thrills of victory when a blast of hot breath hit him on the back of his neck. Managing to turn just far enough to see the snarling face of a second werewolf, Charlie experienced a momentary sinking feeling of despair, felt himself look death in the face, and felt his mouth fall open with astonishment as a black wolf leapt past him and straight into the oncoming werewolf, knocking it off-balance. There was a flurry of snarls and snapping teeth before Emily was thrown away forcibly, struggling back onto her paws with apparent difficulty before directing a spell at the pursuing predator in her human form once again, sending the werewolf fleeing into the forest with its tail between its legs. Then the blonde was running in his direction, stopping next to him and looking into the air just beside them, almost as if she could see something he couldn't..

"Where?" She had panted before he could say anything, causing Charlie's eyebrows to contract with confusion as he looked around for himself. Just as he was about to ask her who she was talking to, Greyback was leaping out of the shadows at them, jaws open wide. Emily seized his hand in a firm grip, twisting with him and pulling him into the darkness of apparition without warning. With a huff as they hit the ground together, the redhead blinked with momentary confusion as he glanced at the new surroundings, surprised to see Fred and George running towards them and the safe house beyond them... How had Emily known to come here? Frowning slightly with bewilderment, Charlie glanced down at Emily with a questioning stare, but didn't get the chance to ask her how she had known where to go before the twins were upon them. Somehow, he got the feeling that now wasn't the time to ask, not in front of his brothers.

Somewhat disapproving when the witch got to her feet and began to cast protective enchantments around the shack, Charlie nevertheless focused first on answering Fred's question, occasionally glancing over to check emily's progress. "Just like Emily said, snatchers. Werewolf snatchers.." He smiled, amused by the accurate summary, but decided to elaborate a little more. "When I took off from you lot, I found Emily yelling at a group of snatchers, one of which was Greyback. One of them tried to use the Cruciatus curse on her..." A dark look crossed his face. "Luckily I managed to stun that one and trip up one of his mates with his buddy."glancing over at Emily who was still casting spells, Charlie began to move over to her, concluding his brief story with, "Greyback transformed, got blasted by one of Emily's spells, I stunned another death eater, and she saved my life by tackling another werewolf that came up behind me. We disapparated just as Greyback was coming around for another attempt."

Stopping when he drew level with Emily, Charlie began to help her set up the protective enchantments, waving his wand in the air along side her and lowering his voice to a whisper that only she could hear. "Are you all right? It looked like you were hurt, I thought I heard something crack when you were knocked back..." But right in the middle of his sentence, there came a loud squeal from the direction of the shack and he glanced over just in time to see Abigail streaking across the yard to throw her arms around Emily in a feierce hug, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh Emily!" She wailed. "I'm s-so glad you're al-alright! I was s-so worried about you!" And then she completely dissolved into sobbing tears, burying her face against her friend's shoulder.

Charlie looked bemused, pausing mid spell to grin over at the pair of witches. "Course we're alright. Your friend is daft clever with her wand in a pinch." He chuckled, The reality of what had happened finally beginning to sink in and causing his relief to begin to spread.

Abigail hiccuped in response, pulling one hand away long enough to rub at the tears on one cheek, but he thought he caught a small smile on her lips.

[SirensCall]

Fred and George listened to Charlie, and each time he looked.back, they found themselves looking over to Emily as well, and soon Charlie joined her in casting protective enchantments. The twins looked between each other. "I told you they'd be okay." Fred said, and George nodded.

"We had very good reason to worry." George pointed out, but soon Abagail ran out to Emily. Fred and George both smiled once the blonde took the brunette in her arms. It was endearing really, to see two women so strong, so stoic, melt for one another. Like family. It was adorable, really and they watched the form of Emily soften as she held onto Abagail. These two might not have been related, but they were family.

Fred looked to George. "Let's get them something to eat." Fred said, and George nodded as they headed inside and began rummaging through the cabinets for something to cook, or just eat. They weren't great cooks, but at least it would be edible. They took some of the bread they found and opened the small fridge and began making sandwiches for everyone. Hopefully it would help.

George stopped a moment. "Do you think we should contact mum and dad? Tell them we're coming?" He asked.

Fred gave a nod.and George allowed his patronus to form with their message and watched as the silvery blue light took off away from them. He closed his eyes and rummaged through more cabinets and found some packaged tea cakes that he unwrapped and placed on the plates.

"What do you think?" George asked.

"About them? They are different, but they were mentioned to us for a reason. They should have been protected their entire.lives if they were as important as they are made out to be." Fred said, and George nodded.

"How do you think they'll react to everyone in the Order?" He asked and Fred shrugged.

"Not sure." He said, and he placed the plate of sandwiches and the plate of tea cakes on the small table. George headed to the door.

"Hey guys! We've got some food together!" He called out to them, and He sat at the table.

--

Emily continued to cast spells and when Charlie joined her, she knew she had some explaining to do, but his question about her Well being took her off guard. She didn't answer at first, but she nodded. "I'll be okay. Probably broke a couple ribs, but I've had worse." She assured him. "And I have some potions in my bag."

Soon Abagail's voice filled her ears, and once brought into the hug, Emily winced. However, after a moment, she brought her arms around Abagail who was sobbing. Emily looked to her when she spoke, and Charlie's statement caused her to turn her head. "Helps when you've got someone around who is equally as quick on their feet." She said to him before her form softened and she held onto Abagail.

"Plus, Abby, I've been through worse hells than werewolf snatchers. I don't get put down that easy." She whispered to Abagail, and soon she let her go, and nearly fell when she did. She felt for her bag, seeing it where they first landed, and she looked to Abagail. "Bring me.my bag, please."

She got down to her knees and her hand went to her side, breathing heavy. "Okay, maybe a few ribs." She corrected herself, and she saw her bag before her and rummaged through it, pulling out two vials. One was a clear liquid and the other was a bright blue. Once she downed them both, she began breathing a little better and when she attempted to stand, she heard George call out to them. She looked to Abagail, and she closed her eyes.

"Go ahead, Abby, I'll be.in after a few minutes. I still have one.more potion to take." She said, and she finally stood up and pulled a green vial from her bag, and she downed.it too. She sighed and looked to Charlie. "I think we're good, better head.in there."

[StarfrostedFox]

Sniffling and hiccuping, Abigail caught the lifting of Charlie's cheek as he turned away to finish casting the defensive spells, giving her the impression that he was smiling at the complement he had received from Emily. The idea had her feeling a little... jealous. She blinked at the idea and almost immediately felt guilty. She had no right to monopolize the happiness of her best friend. Brushing if you matted pieces of hair out of her face and rubbing the heel of her hand against her cheeks to wipe away some of the residue of tears as best she could, she finally Took a reluctant step back from her friend. Almost immediately, Emily collapsed onto her knees, clutching at her side, and Abby gasped, hands flying out, but not touching in case she furthered any discomfort. The labored request for her bag A moment before now made sense and had The brunette nodding quickly, her body twisting almost instantaneously around, hurrying forward and scooping up the abandoned knapsack before rushing back to her sister and setting it in front of her.

"Here you go." She murmured, eyebrows drawing together in a worried crinkle as she watched Emily struggling to breathe, digging in one of her pouches for the necessary potions. She hadn't heard any of the whispered conversation about broken ribs, so she couldn't say exactly what was wrong with her friend, but she didn't need to know the details. Emily was hurt, that's what mattered.

As the contents of the vials were swallowed and Emily's breathing seemed to ease, Abigail found herself breathing more easily as well. Bless The wizards that had first thought to make potions. The twins called out from inside the little building, pulling her attention away from her thoughts momentarily, and she hesitated. Glancing back down at Emily, she was tempted to argue, but the soft urging of her friend to go inside wasn't something she could easily ignore. She wasn't a very argumentative person and she knew that if there was anything really serious, Emily wouldn't be so quick to let Abigail go inside, leaving her alone with a stranger. So the brunette leaned down, gently kissing the top of her friend's head, before turning and heading towards the shack. "don't you dare keep it for me if you're still hurting later." She threatened teasingly over her shoulder, disappearing inside and glancing around..

"Oh!" Abigail exclaimed as she caught sight of Fred and George at the table, plates of sandwiches and cakes in front of them. "This looks absolutely wonderful! Thank you!" She beamed, finally beginning to relax around the Weasleys now that the uncertainty of her friend's safety was resolved and she had a roof over her head for the first time and what felt like forever.

Rushing over to the table and plopping down into a chair, she eagerly collected one of the sandwiches and bit into it, unable to stifle a small groan of satisfaction. At that moment, the sandwich was the best thing she had ever tasted! After several more bites, it dawned on her that she was being quite rude, stuffing her face and ignoring the company. Swallowing her last mouthful, Abigail smiled sheepishly at the twins, saying the first thing that came to her mind as a conversation starter. "So, you mentioned that we are going somewhere Calld the Burrow... Is it some sort of underground base for the Order?"

---

Charlie had in fact smiled, though he had also turned away at the same time, not wanting to further interrupt the touching moment between the two witches. Casting the last of the defensive spells, he slipped his wand back into his pocket and had just turned around to suggest going inside win Emily lowered herself down onto her knees, clutching at her injured side. His eyebrows lifted with surprise, though he didn't make any move to help immediately, Abigail having already gone to retrieve Emily's fallen bag, but he did place his hand onto the handle of his wand once again, ready to retrieve it should the need for magic arise.

"okay. Maybe a few ribs." The blonde admitted ruefully, causing Charlie to chuckle softly.

"my baby sister Ginny tries to downplay everything that affects her negatively too." He mused softly, watching as Abigail placed the knapsack on the ground and Emily rummage in it for a couple of potions, both of which she downed quickly and seemed to feel better almost immediately. Relieved at the positive results, the redhead released his wand once again, watching as Abby was successfully convinced to go inside after his brothers, and had almost extended the same hand forward to help Emily get to her feet when the which stood up without help, drinking yet another potion.

"if you think you'll be all right." Charlie agreed hesitantly, withdrawing his hand before it could be spotted. "if you think you need another minute, I can wait here with you. I don't think they'll have eaten all the sandwiches before we get in there."

[SirensCall]

It took a few minutes for anyone to come inside, and when the twins saw it was Abagail, they paused mid sandwich. The smiles that spread across their faces at her reaction were nothing short of amused. They wold have laughed if they wouldn't have choked on their last bite of their own sandwiches. Then Abagail asked a question and the twins perked up.

"No, no, its much better." Fred answered, and George continued.

"Its home." George said, "Our mum and dad will be so pleased to meet you both."

"Mum has been a nervous wreck, our younger sister went back to Hogwarts, and our younger brother is off with Harry Potter. Not to mention we're all in constant danger because we're seen as Blood Traitors in the eyes of the Muggle Born Registration Commission." Fred went on and George picked up.

"I think you'll like it there. You and Emily will be sharing our sister's room. We have a garden, a large bit of land, plenty of forest and a pond. Its gorgeous and there is never a dull moment. Always have something to do. Tomorrow we'll take the port key, as we have many protective spells around our home. It will be the.busiest day as you'll be.meeting the rest of the Order."

"Let's see ,there's mum, dad, Bill, Fleur, Remus, Tonks, and Kingsley." Fred thought.

"May not sound like much, but we're all wicked good witches and wizards." George continued before seeing Charlie and Emily entered.

"Just in time, we were just talking about the Order." Fred said and Emily gave a look.

"Very nice." Emily said, seeing the bathroom and looking to Abagail. "Since you're eating, I'm going to wash up. I'll eat after before you say anything."

Fred and Gorge heard the bathroom door close, and they looked to Charlie. "Of all of us though, Charlie here is the most rugged. A dragonologist."

George nodded. "And we own our own joke shop."

"What about you?" Fred asked. "What did you do before everything hit?"

--

Emily watched Abagail go inside. Her physical pain wouldn't be the problem, it was the repercussions of her actions earlier in the night. She had made contact with spirits, which meant it was likely the evil spirits would visit her. Charlie's voice brought her back. "Thank you, but I'll be alright." She said. "Besides, don't think I won't hex you without a thought if this whole thing is a charade." She warned him, feeling her once sisterly warmth leaving her as Abagail got further away.

She finally moved to head inside, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she headed towards the door, but she stopped and turned to Charlie at the door, blocking it with her form. "And as for earlier... there will come a time where everything becomes painfully clear to you. That time isn't now, not until I know for a fact that I can trust you. Because once people find out about me, who I am, what I'm capable of, they look at me differently." She said, a bit defensively. She walked in, and once one of the twins spoke, She announced that she was going to wash up, and once she closed the bathroom door, she placed muffling spells on the room as she drew the bath.

Once it was filled, she stripped out of her clothes and once the gloves came off, her barcode was staring her in the face. She shook her head and enchanted the bathroom sink to wash her clothes and a pair of fresh ones came from her bag as she sank into the hot water.

"This is nice." She whispered, singing to herself as she bathed, glad she put the muffling spell on the room. She learned those spells young, to keep her.nightmares a secret.

Once she finished bathing and magically dried her other clothes, she exited the bathroom. Her hair was still being magically brushed, and she came out in her black sweatpants and a large long sleeved shirt, her black, fingerless gloves back on her hands as she sat at the table and began eating, silently.

[StarfrostedFox]

Feeling that it might be a little rude to say that calling your house "The Burrow" might be considered rather strange to more people than just herself, Abigail kept that little tidbit silent, taking another bite of her sandwich to give herself thinking time. Despite sounding like something a rabbit might live in, the way the twins talked about their family and their home made it sound pleasant. She hadn't seen her own family in months and the realization made her heart ache with how much she missed them. But almost immediately she was distracted with the sound of Harry Potter's name and she momentarily found herself stunned, pulled out of her own grief. Her mouth fell open slightly, eyebrows raised, but George was already moving on with the next piece of information before she could fully wrap her head around the idea that the family that had just saved her was in touch with, possibly even friends too, Harry Potter.

Making a concerted effort not to look like she was overwhelmed by all of the names and information she had just been presented with, Abigail made herself smile. The expression wasn't too difficult, she was pretty happy at the moment, but she still hoped that she would be able to keep all of the facts straight when the time came. "i'm looking forward to meeting everyone." She smiled again, she loved making new friends after all.

The door to the shack opened then and Emily walked in, pale but no longer appearing as if she was in intense pain, followed by Charlie, Who intern looked as if he was trying to piece together some sort of puzzle, confusion wrinkling his forehead. Abigail beamed at the sight of her friend, carefully scrutinizing her tired face for a moment before letting her go into the bathroom without objection. Staring at the closed door for a heartbeat, Abby then turned around and watched as Charlie took up an empty seat and turned it around before sitting down so that he was sitting in the chair backwards. He smiled at his brothers as he took one of the sandwiches, taking a huge bite out of it and swallowing before giving her a wink.

"That's me. I haven't seen a dragon in weeks though." He admitted with a wistful sigh. "I can live without the burns, but I miss seeing them and getting a chance to pit my strength and wit against the scaly brutes."

Abigail giggled appreciatively. "sounds dangerous. I don't see what you get out of it."

"No one ever does." Charlie replied, giving his head a little shake.

Laughing once again, Abby then lit up as George mentioned that he and Fred both owned a joke shop. "Oh! That sounds wonderful!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together and looking delighted. "I feel like I haven't laughed in ages! I would love to hear more about the kinds of jokes you have both come up with." She said sincerely.

"You opened yourself to that one." Charlie said with a grin, vivid memories of what the twins had come up with flashing through his mind. "It's brilliant though."

But when Fred went on to ask her about what she herself had done before You-Know-Who had made things such a living nightmare, Abigail found the thought had her frown returning, her stomach twisting uneasily. She couldn't very well start telling them about how she had been a spy for the ministry, how she could change into any animal she could imagine, she didn't have that level of trust for the Weasley men. Yet. So after a moment which involved her biting at her lower lip, she decided to tell only part of the truth. "Nothing too exciting I'm afraid, unless you think that cooking part time at the Leaky Cauldron is exciting."

~~~

Having waited patiently as Emily reassured him that she was fine and then got to her feet, Charlie was nevertheless ready to catch her should she stumble. Her expression seemed to darken, almost as if she could read his thoughts, but instead of telling him off about his desire to help, she instead threatened to hex him if she discovered that he and his family were not actually there to help. Holding up both of his hands palms outward, Charlie couldn't help the small grin that flickered across his face. "And I wouldn't blame you in the slightest. I'd jynx myself if I even start to consider it." He reassured her, though he wasn't expecting that to gain the witch's trust.

Following behind Emily as she headed towards the shack, Charlie retrieved his own backpack from the ground as they went, hooking it over one shoulder and had just moved to step forward to open the door when the blonde suddenly blocked his path. Blinking down at her, he silently listened to her cryptic explanation, his confusion rising as he tried to connect what had just happened with what she was saying now, but felt as if he was missing the point somehow. Perhaps she wasn't talking about the potions... By the time she had finally moved inside and he had walked in after her, he still hadn't unraveled what she had said to him. Watching as Emily disappeared into the bathroom, he just managed to hold back the sigh that threatened to escape, putting the matter at the back of his mind before joining the others at the little table.

As he ate his sandwich and joined in the conversation going on between his brothers and Abigail, Charlie couldn't help but allow his light brown gaze to drift to the closed bathroom door every minute or so, mind only really half on the talking that was taking place. He still couldn't quite comprehend what Emily had meant by what she had said earlier. And trying to decipher the message was making his head hurt.

There was a soft click as the bathroom opened once again, Emily emerging with a cloud of sweet smelling steam and taking her place silently at the little table, collecting her own food and beginning to eat without a word to any of them. By the look on her face, Charlie thought that Abigail had also been worried about her friend. The brunette reached out and plucked the brush magically untangling Emily's hair out of the air and began to run it herself through the wet strands.

"Had a good bath?" Charlie inquired pleasantly, admitting to himself that the young woman looked better for her wash.

[SirensCall]

Before Fred or George could say another word, Emily rejoined the group. She looked so much more refreshed and clean, and once Abagail took over brushing her hair, Emily seemed to allow for a bit. When Charlie asked us question Emily nodded. "Quite nice, thank you."

The twins noted the gloves still on her hands still, and before they said anything, they stopped. But only fora moment. "What's up with the gloves?" Fred asked, and Emily placed her half eaten sandwich down and looked to them before self consciously rubbing her hands.

"My hands are badly scarred." She lied, but luckily they didn't call her on it.

"Charlie over here has loads of scars." George jabbed his thumb in Charlie's directions. "Being a dragonologist and all."

"A dragonologist?" She asked, a bit quickly.

"Yeah. Close to death everyday." Fred's voice came, and Emily shrugged.

"To be close to that form of beauty, it's worth it." She said, her hand rubbing her shoulder a bit. "Its been an age since I've seen one. At least that's how it feels."

The twins blinked a bit at what she had said. Someone who understood Charlie's career choice? "Wait, you get it?" George asked, and Emily turned a bit to look to Abagail.

"You've been around these two a bit longer than I have, do they always ask stupid.questions?" She inquired.

Fred feigned hurt. "Its not often we run into a wild witch or two, and one who understands the choice to be around.dragons."

Emily's eyes rolled a bit. "Well, it's not that difficult to grasp. Dragons, above all, hold raw, untamed beauty. They are very misunderstood creatures." She said.

George shook his head. "We'll, this is why Fred and I are in the joke shop business."

Emily went to take another bite, but she set her sandwich down. "Wait a tick. Weasleys Wizard Wheezes? You two own and operate it?"

The twins seemed amazed, and Emily rose a.confused brow. "I didn't live under a rock my entire life. I was around when the shop opened. Just before Abby and I went out of town on a trip."

After that Emily looked to Abagail. "Abby, why not wash up? It will help you feel better. I'll brush your hair when you're done."

Once the twins saw Abagail leave the room, they had to ask, "What did you do before all of this?"

Emily froze a bit, looking to her hands. "I..." She began and a cold hand came to her shoulder. Her mother... "I worked in the Ministry for a time, then I left and helped train Hippogriffs."

"You're barmey, woman!" Fred said. Of course, he was only kidding, but soon they saw Emily shoot a muffling spell on the room.

"Don't you dare call me barmey, boy." Her voice was edged as it had been when they first came across her. "There are very few things I will not stand to be called and anything that insinuates crazy falls.under that category. Do I make myself.perfectly clear?"

Fred nodded, and she flicked her wand and unmuffled the room before she sat down. They couldn't have known, but it was a trigger of sorts. She finished her food and got up, softly knocking on the bathroom door. "Abby, I'll be in the.bedroom." she said, and she entered the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She pulled off her gloves and sighed, rubbing her barcode.

[StarfrostedFox]

Happy for the moment to simply be listening to the talk around the table, not feeling obligated to join in the conversation at the present, Abigail enjoyed the gentle rhythm of pulling the brush through Emily's wet hair, for once not feeling the habitual need to bite at her lower lip with worry as the conversation turned to her friend's gloves. She knew that Emily was adept at deflecting too many questions about the odd accessories, having successfully done the same thing with Abigail when she had first asked, so she wasn't really following all that closely to any explanation, fatigue beginning to fog her thoughts. How long had it been since she slept?

"... Do they always ask stupid questions?" The tail end of the question directed at her brought her fuzzy brain back to the present with a couple of blinks. Abigail quickly focused on Emily, who had asked the question, and adopted a sheepish expression. She didn't like saying anything negative about anyone, even near strangers, so she ended up giving a helpless little shrug of her shoulders in response instead. But it didn't seem to matter that she hadn't given an adequate response, the conversation quickly turning towards the twin's joke shop once again. She had just considered slipping back into a quiet oblivion when Emily spoke to her once again, suggesting that she might like to go and take a bath herself and Abigail's expression brightened considerably of the idea.

"A bath! That sounds... wonderful, honestly. I think I'll do that." Smiling brightly, Abigail quickly returned Emily's brush to her before getting up from the table and collecting her knapsack which she had abandoned by the table, waving quickly to the room at large before hurrying excitedly into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Waving her wand enthusiastically, she filled the tub with hot water before stripping out of her dirty clothing, sending it into the sink to wash itself. Groaning audibly with pleasure as she sank into the steaming water, she took a moment to simply enjoy the way the temperature eased the aches and pains from her body, the already perceptible feeling of the dirt being washed away, before retrieving soap and shampoo and setting about to remove every inch of dirt from her skin and hair with an acute sense of joy.

~~~

Now that Fred drew attention to them, Charlie found it odd that Emily was wearing gloves, especially after having a bath and finding a place to be able to rest. He supposed it was just one of her own personal fashion statements, one that she was not comfortable discussing with others, if he were to understand the look she gave his brother. But the scars were another possible reason why she might want to hide her hands, there were a few scars that he had himself that he was glad were out of sight.

"Yep." He confirmed when she looked at him questioningly after learning he studied dragons. "For several years now. That's part of the reason why my arms look like pieces of them have been set on fire. Because they have been." He chuckled at the idea.

By the sound of it, Emily didn't object to his working with dragons, the way his family did. Instead, it sounded as if she were slightly envious of his job. The way she talked about dragons, the beauty of them and the power that they held, he instantly knew exactly how she felt. She felt the same way he himself did about his occupation. The realize Asian made him smile broadly. Surreptitiously, he studied the witch with a new respect coloring his gaze, though he did his best to hide it behind another bite of his sandwich.

As soon as Abigail left the room, her excitement about the idea of a bath obvious on her face, Charlie listen with interest as Emily was then asked about what she had done before she had gone on the run. It had to be something exciting, he imagined, summarizing this from the way she had handled herself with The snatchers and her fiery personality. He wasn't surprised to learn that she had worked with magical creatures herself, though the idea of her working in an occupation so mundane as the ministry did give him pause. He couldn't quite picture her working quietly behind a desk, The image didn't suit her.

"You're barmey, woman!" Fred said and Charlie new almost instantly that it had been the wrong thing to say. The atmosphere perceptibly cooled, emily's face going hard a moment before she cast a muffling spell on the room. He stiffened at her words, the threat in her words as well as the look she leveled at his brother. He couldn't seem to find his voice in the drastically different situation, and neither could the twins, if their silence was anything to go by. He stared, slightly dumbfounded, as Emily finished her sandwich and rose from the table without another word, going over to the bathroom and knocking on the door to deliver a message to Abigail. The muffled response came back and the blonde haired which disappeared into the bedroom, resolutely shutting the door behind her and leaving the three redheaded men in an awkward silence.

Then Charlie chuckled darkly, glancing over at Fred. "This is just a hunch, but I don't think you should call her crazy again."

After a few uneventful minutes, Abigail reappeared, looking drastically different by the absent dirt and dust, dressed in a pair of pink pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt, and she smiled at the trio, blissfully unaware of the antagonistic atmosphere that she had just missed. "Thank you, you know, for saving me and my sister." She said warmly, blushing slightly before wishing them good night and disappearing into the bedroom as well.

[SirensCall]

Emily leaned her back against the bedroom door, using a muffling spell once again as she screamed and threw things before she waved her wand and set the room back in order before flopping back on the bed. She threw her gloves against the wall and ran her fingers through her hair. She had never taken to the crazy thing well. Not well at all.

She closed her eyes and began humming to herself, but the second the door opened, she sat up, peering out a moment to see the table in a state of silence still. She gave a sigh before she saw the door close and she looked to Abagail. "Come along, I'll brush out your hair." She said, and as she began brushing her brunette.locks she spoke.

"What do you think of them?" Emily asked. Her fingers worked through the rougher parts of Abagail's hair. Emily needed a leveled opinion, even if they did just meet these men. "Because if we're around them long enough, they're going to find out, and I can't handle watching more people look at me like I'm a freak."

--

Fred and George fell silent, and the bedroom became eerily quiet. A muffling spell no doubt, but once Charlie.spoke Fred nodded.

"I was only kidding." He said, and George said.

"Fred, she's wild, and they've been on the run for a long time with just each other, and it's probably been extremely serious and scary. She just might not have realized it."

Fred nodded and looked to Charlie. "How'd you get her to be so... human? She acts like a caged animal." Fred said, But soon Abagail came out. When she spoke, Fred felt the knot in his stomach. She might not have been saying that had she been in here.moments earlier. When the door shut, Fred sunk.

George shook his head. "We should get some rest. Big day tomorrow. Bringing them to the Order."

Fred nodded. "And mum. I think that's going to be interesting."

[StarfrostedFox]

As the door clicked shut behind her, Abigail's blue eyes were almost instantly flickering around the room in search of her sister. She didn't have to look long, gaze falling on Emily after only a second of searching. It helped that the blonde had decided to flop on the bed. Smiling automatically as Emily sat up, inviting her over so that her hair could be brushed out. The idea of such a simple act sounded heavenly. Just managing to restrain the desire to skip over, Abby never the less hurried across the room, settling onto the bed with an enthusiastic bounce. She was right about the hair brushing, it was heavenly. The feeling of the bristles being gently drawn across her scalp...

"What do you think of them?"

The question was not a surprising one, though Abigail had to focus on concentrating on her answer, thinking of the words she wanted to use and trying not to let herself get distracted by the sensation of the brush pulling through her hair. She found herself instinctively biting on her lower lip as she considered her response. But before she could begin to speak, Emily had continued on to elaborate on her own thoughts and feelings, mentioning that she was afraid of being considered a freak. Scowling at the very idea, Abby didn't hesitate is she reached up to comfortingly squeeze one of Emily's wrists.

"You're not a freak." She said firmly, giving the arm beneath her fingers another squeeze for emphasis. "... And I don't think they would respond like that to you, not really. Not Charlie, at least. He seems so levelheaded..." She sighed, Dropping her hand back into her lap. "That is part of my first impression at least. I think they are good people Who honestly want to help us. The twins are a bit lax with their humor, but they mean well." She shrugged her shoulders gently. "by all the evidence we have received so far... I think we can trust them. At least a little."

~~~

Charlie almost told off Fred for his teasing of Emily. Almost. He wanted to explain to his brother about the way he perceived her more serious personality, her displeasure of considering being different from everyone else, the way that seemed to make her uncomfortable and somewhat... afraid. But he found himself putting off the lecture until a later date as his jaw cracked under a yawn and the twins came to a somewhat similar conclusion on their own. Running both of his hands briskly over his face, The hint of stubble scratching at his fingers, The redhead could only shrug in response to Fred's next question, asking him how he was able to get her to act so human around him.

"She is human." He said simply. "She's a bit skittish, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't treat her like a human." He blinked thoughtfully, choosing not to add on that his experience with working with skittish animals needed the same reactions. Emily was not an animal, but she acted enough like one that he could understand how to soothe her frayed nerves...

When it was finally suggested that they all go to bed, the eldest of the present Weasley children finally rose from the table at last, his thoughts being polled away from Emily at the moment. Grinning along with his brothers about the idea of presenting the two witches to their mother the following morning, Charlie released a short bark of laughter. "definitely going to be interesting. Mum's probably going to start off with how happy she is to see them, how happy she is that they are safe, and then jump straight into how skinny they both are and insist on being a good host and make them more food then they have seen in a month. She'll insist that they eat until it's coming out of their ears." Still chuckling at the imagery, Charlie waved his wand through the air, rearranging furniture, dimming the lights, stacking the dirty dishes, until he was satisfied they would be able to sleep at least halfway decent and mostly comfortable. "see you in the morning Fred, George. Don't keep me awake or I might have to hex you." He chuckled at the idea. "sleep tight. Don't let the dragons, wolves,, or witches bite..

[SirensCall]

Abigail Hawthorne. The only person to say things to Emily that she could believe, but no matter how hard Abby tried, Emily never thought otherwise that she was a freak. She played it off, but she always had that belief. Because how many people wanted to run tests on her, how many had?

Still, she gave Abby a rare smile. "If you say so, Abby." She said, running the brush through her hair again. Once she finished, Emily looked to Abby. "Time to get some rest, we've got a long day ahead of us." She said, folding back the covers for Abby and soon she warped back into her wolf form. She was clean in this form now, her fur soft and shiny as she laid at the foot of the bed as she often did while sleeping.

It didn't stop the nightmares though, and finally Emily woke with a stir. It couldn't have been long until sunrise, so she carefully warped back and.tip toed about the shak, trying not to wake anyone as she stepped outside. The air was brisk and she could see the sun starting to come up as she sat on the small step on the porch and watched. There would be more people today, more than she wanted to encounter all at once, but she would endure it for Abby.

She hummed slightly to the song of a bird nearby, one who undoubtedly had been trapped under the protective measures placed on shack. She felt it land near her and she watched as she placed her hand before it and it.hopped in her hand. "You want to fly free, friend?" She asked and it chipped softly. She stood, walking to the edge.of the enchantment and opening it with her wand. "Go, be free, friend." She aid and she watched as the bird took off and she closed the enchantment again.

She sighed, but soon a pain came. Her ribs were hurting, no doubt from being thrown by the werewolf the night before. She rubbed her side and went back to the porch and sat to watch the sunrise. It was beautiful, and she found herself.heading inside, muffling the room around her as she began cooking.

(I will bring Fred and George into my next post.)