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Here I am again back with another long delayed update. I don't know if I ever mentioned this before but I'm an emergency room nurse, so I can't even begin to describe how busy I've been the last few months. Thankfully I've managed to stay well. But I finally got some time and I'm back with two updates. Thank you everyone in advance who's still reading my stories. I love you. OH and for the people were also asking me about my TUMBLR: dashboard/blog/simplyswooningk

The Long Game

April 1981

"Gideon, do you really think it's a good idea to ward the properties so much?" asked a fitful and heavily pregnant Molly Weasley. "What could You-Know-Who possibly want with the house?"

Gideon Prewett nodded firmly. "You-Know-Who wants the world, Molly. We're blood traitors, remember? Our entire family history is in this house. I won't let anything threaten it. Vict et Validum."

Gideon and Molly were discreetly speaking in the kitchen of the Burrow, discussing the War and other current events, although all other topics seem to lead them back to ever-constant presence of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and all the gloom that came with it.

"Did Mum and Dad get off all right?" Molly asked, speaking of her parents who had recently gone into hiding. She hadn't been able to see them off and as a result was quite anxious for word of them.

Gideon nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry I can't tell you exactly where they are, but it's for your own safety. Honestly, I wish you would take this whole lot and go somewhere yourself. You're in no condition to be anywhere near the action, Molls," he said with a nod to Molly's round belly.

Molly smiled at her older brother. "Who would look after you and Fabian if I left? The trouble you'd get yourselves into without me around. Besides, Arthur wants to do what he can for the Order. It pains him not to be able to do more."

"Arthur has a family to look after. Dumbledore understands. We're fighting for them, Molly. For Bill and Charlie and Fred and George and Percy, and the newest one. Another boy, I bet. We fight, so that they don't have to."

Molly looked forlorn for a moment. "What if he wins? Then they will."

"Don't bet on it. You-Know-Who's bound to trip up somewhere. He's far too arrogant. That kind always fails."

"I hope you're right," she said as she took his hand in hers.

"I'm always right, Molls. And don't you and Fabe ever forget. Blimey, is that the time? I've got to be off. Order Business, you know. I'll give everyone your love."

"Please do," Molly said with a warm smile. Gideon placed a gentle kiss on his sister's forehead and Apparated away.

If Molly had known that was one of the last times she'd ever see him, she would've given him a hug.

Molly assessed her daughter-in-law with a discerning eye. She knew that look. It was the same one she'd when Dumbledore had owled her saying that Gideon and Fabian had not shown up for their scheduled rendezvous with the Order.

It was look of panic, a look of fear, a look of entertaining the horrible possibility of living your life without someone you loved.

"He's fine, he's absolutely fine," Molly said with certainty. "Nothing's wrong, he's just working late."

"Mum," Ginny said, her voice a hoarse, defeated whisper. "Mum, we were at the house. The clock went to "peril" and we tried owling him, we tried calling his mobile, we couldn't get a Patronus to him, it kept coming back. Mum, something's wrong!"

Ron looked at his mother and his sister, watching the fear rising in their eyes. He couldn't fathom something happening to Bill, not with everything else going on.

Bill who was the rock of his siblings, the one they always looked up to for everything. The one they could count on no matter what. Nothing could happen to Bill, not now. He tried to keep his emotions in check and cleared his throat.

"What happened?" he managed to say. "Does anyone know where he was before the clock changed?"

Molly sighed. "He went to Gringott's. I asked him to. To look into the vault."

"What's wrong with the vault?" Ron asked. In all the madness that had recently taken over his life, he had barely had time to stop and think about the recent good fortune of the Weasleys.

"Well, when I went there to discuss what was going on with the goblins, everything was in the vault except for the keys to Rubrum and Mallory House. I asked and the goblins never really explained why they weren't there."

Hermione ears perked up. "Rubrum? That can't be a coincidence."

"What does Rubrum have to do with any of this?" said a highly confused Ginny.

"Maybe nothing," Hermione said as she began pacing back and forth. "But maybe something. Rubrum should've passed to you now, right Molly?"

Molly nodded. "It should have. But I remember the goblin seemed under the impression that it hadn't. I thought he was just being prickly."

"Perhaps. Either way, I think we should head over there."

"'Mione, no one can get in there. There's a bad ward on the house," Ron said with some hesitation.

"Well, we have to try. What if whoever's doing commandeered that house for some reason? They may have found a way to break the ward, they found a way to duplicate Voldemort's wand for Merlin's sake."

"What?" cried Fleur. "Voldemort's wand?"

Kingsley cleared his throat. "Nothing for you to worry about, Fleur," he said trying to calm everyone down.

"My husband zis missing, I shall worry about what I like, no?" her French accent always came on a little stronger when she was upset.

"What would Death Eaters want with Rubrum," Ron asked aloud, trying to focus on the task at hand.

Ginny sighed. "Does it matter right now? We've got to think about Bill. One second, he was at work, the next he was in danger. We've got find to find him."

"We will, Gin," Hermione said putting a comforting hand on her sister-in-law's shoulder.

"Here's what we'll do," Kingsley said sounding much more like the Minister of Magic. "I'll have Blasttrap come in immediately. He's the head Goblin at Gringotts. He knows better to trifle with me. He'll maybe be able to shed light on where Bill was heading when he left Gringotts. Nothing happens in Gringotts that Blasttrap doesn't know about."

Molly was perplexed. "But what if he did something to Bill? What if Bill learned somethings that the Goblins didn't want him to know?"

Kingsley laughed. "Molly, Goblins are greedy, they're not stupid. They know the consequences if they ever tried to harm a wizard. Endanger a firstborn son of the Sacred Twenty-Eight? No, the goblins would not harm Bill. I'm certain of that. I'll have Blasttrap brought in immediately. We'll get to the bottom of it."

The last thing Ron wanted to do was wait for answers. Answers for questions that he didn't even know how to ask. But it seemed that this game they were playing was only getting longer. There was no end in sight, and the tunnel only seemed to get darker the further they went.

Hermione sat down in her chair, anxiously thinking trying to make sense of the pieces on the board. Somewhere, in this mangled pile was the eureka moment they'd all been waiting for. The sword slice that undo this Gordian Knot that Voldemort had tied together. She could hope that she could find it...before it was too late.

Vicit et Validum

The plan was working exceedingly well...almost. The incompetence of the wandmakers befuddled reason. They had the blasted Deathstick in front of them, how hard could it be to duplicate? He sat at his study, fully determined that nothing would stand in his way.

He'd slept for many years and he'd been awakened to his true purpose. He would not fail his Master. This plan had been in place for so long, he would not, could fail.

Of course, there were the Aurors. They seemed to have started an unprecedented practice of recruiting wizard with intelligence.

And of course, now there was a prisoner. He loathed prisoners, especially useless ones. This one was particularly useless. He held no information of note, nor was he worthy of silencing.

He realized that he should kill him now. After all what good was he to him? And yet, he hesitated for reasons he could not name. Perhaps it was the young man's courage. After all, it would take a very brave man to enter into this house, presenting a challenge.

Or a very stupid one, he thought grimly. Bravery was by far the nicest word for stupidity. He sighed, perhaps it was better not to kill the boy. More deaths would only equal more suspicion. And until the wandmakers had completed their task, suspicion was risky. Then again, he couldn't risk him being found, now could he?

He held the young man's wand in his hand tested it for mettle, firing red sparks from the tip. Something about the wand seemed oddly comforting, though he could not grasp why. The wand clearly did not fully understand him, and yet there was something...familiar about it.

He shook his head. He had no time for such distractions. The boy had to die. The wand would be snapped. He would take care of the problem at dawn. For now, he had other matters to attend to.

~Vicit Et Validium~

Bill Weasley gathered his strength, steeled himself to fight, to deflect, to do whatever he had to, he didn't know what he was about to face, he had no way of knowing. He just knew he had to brace himself.

The door opened slowly, and a shadowy, hunched figure appeared. As his eyes focused, he realized it was a house-elf. Under normal circumstances, the strongest house-elf wouldn't have made him blink, let alone flinch. But he was wandless, injured and he hadn't the foggiest clue what was going on. He could afford to trifle with no one, not even what appeared to be a very old house-elf.

The elf lit a floating candle near the fireplace and drew something that looked like a potion vial out of an invisible pocket. Bill gritted his teeth, he had no intentions of being poisoned by a house-elf.

The elf scurried over to him and the words that came out its mouth were the last thing Bill had expected in this situation. "Master William, Master William, you must hurry," came a high-pitched, excited whisper. "We don't have no moments to lose, Master William."

Shocked, Bill could only manage a gasping, "What?"

"Master William, here drink this, drink it now," said the house-elf as he unpoped the cork on the potion vial and held it to Bill's lips. Bill yanked his face away.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Does Master William not remember Grinky? Grinky served Young Master William's grandparents. Does Young Master not remember?"

Bill stared carefully into the wide-eyed face of the elf. Grinky had been his grandparents' house-elf.

Bill had thought little of the house-elves that were at Rubrum, there were six if he recalled correctly, but none of the had been seen since the first War.

Finally the elf's features became familiar to him. "Grinky? It's you, isn't it?"

"Yes, young Master it's Grinky. We have no moments to lose, young Master, hurry. Drink this, drink this."

"What is—," Bill tried to ask but Grinky shoved the vial down his throat as soon as he was close enough. Bill immediately felt some of his strength returning as the chalky, saccharine potion made its way down.

"Grinky, what's going on here?"

"Grinky don't know exactly, Young Master. But it's bad, very bad! Death Eaters in the house! Death Eaters! Young Master William's grandparents would not stand for it, Grinky knows."

"Death Eaters in this house?" Bill felt his strength growing and Grinky vanished the ropes away. "How?"

"They came with the Master," Grinky said as he pulled Bill to his feet.

Bill sighed. Now he knew this house-elf must've gone mad. Too many years in isolation with no one to serve had clearly sent him loopy.

"Grinky, my mother is Mistress of this House now. And I know she hasn't been here."

"No, no young Master, Grinky don't mean Miss Molly. The Master, young William, the Master!"

"But..."

"Master William, you know that before the War, Master Prewett set Grinky free, but Grinky never left this house, he would never leave Master Prewett. Master was always good to Grinky and Grinky never forgets such, so Grinky swore he would never the House of Prewett. But The New Master is not himself, something's changed since he was last here. Tell me young Master, what has happened to Master Gideon?"

"Master Gideon?!"

Vicit et Validum

By the time Blastrrap arrived (and he'd Apparated right away after receiving Kingsley's urgent Patronus), the entire Weasley clan had descended upon Kingsley's office.

Blasttrap did not like to be disturbed from his work, especially not by wizards. So, he was more than a little prickly when he was shown into the office of the Minister of Magic. As far as he was concerned, a Wizard's Minister should have possessed no jurisdiction over goblin affairs.

"You summoned me, Mr. Minister?" hissed the prickly creature as he stepped into the room. His eyes wandered over the entire room. The Weasley Family. He should have known.

"Yes," said Kingsley greeted the goblin as warmly as he could. "Thank you for coming. There's a matter that requires your attention."

"Anything for the Ministry," came the goblin's frosty reply. His eyes cut over to the Weasleys who were scattered across Kingsley's office, anxious, worried and impatient. "Good evening," was his only greeting for them.

"Blasttrap," Kingsley began. "I'd like to ask you about Bill Weasley."

Blasttrap looked livid. "I was called away from managing all the money in Magical Britain to discuss what's soon to be an ex-employee?"

Molly looked up. "An ex-employee? Bill's been fired."

"No, madam, he has not been. But I assure you, the second he steps back in Gringotts, he will be."

"May I ask the circumstances of Mr. Weasley's termination?" Everyone knew that Kingsley was not asking a question.

Blasttrap paused. Clearly, he didn't want to answer that question. "He was found to be looking in confidential Gringotts files. He left the premises before any of the goblins could confront him on his impertinent actions."

"Do you know where he went?" asked Fleur.

Blasttrap shook his head. "Madam, I do not make it my business to know what my employees do outside of work."

Ron stood up from where he'd been sitting next to Hermione. "You said Bill was looking at confidential files. What files?"

Blasttrap leveled Ron with an icy stare. "That is goblin business, Auror Weasley." Apparently, Blasttrap had not forgotten about the job Ron, Harry and Hermione had done on Gringotts five years earlier.

"Goblin business is Ministry Business," Kingsley said, matching Blasttrap's cold tone. "And I would like to you the answer the Auror's question."

Blasttrap sighed. "Mr. Weasley took it upon himself to the Gringott records of the House of Prewett."

"Mr. Weasley is of the House of Prewett," Molly countered. "I would hardly call that information 'confidential'."

"Madam, I am not concerned with what you would call it. He had no business there. The records are for goblins to know and for goblins to concern themselves with."

"Mr. Blasttrap," came Molly sharp voice. She was not scared of this goblin and her worry for her son, not to mention everything that had been happening gave her courage. "My son was investigating an injustice done to my family, most likely by Gringotts."

"How dare you?" Blasttrap spat. "Gringotts has not wronged your family. I will not tolerate such insolence."

"Neither shall I. Gringotts has refused to turn over the keys to my family's ancestral home which is mine by right."

Blasttrap stared at Molly. "You wizards are truthfully a barmy lot. None of your laws make such sense to me, but I always thought you had somewhat of a grasp on them. All the steps laid out in your father's will were followed the moment the ward broke. The key to your ancestral home was given to the Prewett of Prewett. "

"What?" came everyone's reply at once.

"The Prewett of Prewett is dead," came Hermione, the only one besides Kingsley still calm enough to speak to Blasttrap cordially.

"I believe, madam, you are mistaken."

"She is not mistaken!" cried Molly. "The Prewett of Prewett was my father. I buried him. And I buried his heirs before that! Are you trying to tell me that you gave the key to my family's home to some...some Polyjuiced imposter?"

"Madam, I am simply telling you facts. Goblin magic is nearly impenetrable. I don't concern myself with the affairs of wizards. The key was given to the Prewett of Prewett and that is all I know and all I have to say. Mr. Minister, I believe I have given all the information I need to. I do not know where Mr. Weasley is or where he went."

Kingsley gave Blasttrap a once-over. "Thank you, Blasttrap. You may go."

The goblin curtly and without sparing another glance in the Weasleys' direction, he made his exit.

"He's lying," Ginny spat. "He has to be!"

"He's not," Ron said finally. "He's got no reason to. Obviously, someone, probably someone involved in this whole mess is using Rubrum for something. But what? And why?"

"I think there's only one way to find out," Hermione said, rising from her chair. "We've got to go there."

"Yes," Molly said with steel in her voice. "We've got to go at once."

"Mum," came Percy's voice. "I think we had better let Ron and the Aurors handle it."

"Shut up, Percy," said Charlie and George at the exact same time.

"Percy, that is my house. And I'll be damned if Death Eaters are going to sully it with their filth. Don't forget, I killed Bellatrix. And I'll kill the rest if I have to. Now, shall we go. Fleur, head back to the Burrow and help Angelina with the children."

"What?" came Fleur's incredulous reply. "I'm coming. Bill is my husband!"

"Yes," Molly said her eyes welling with tears. "And if the Death Eaters do something to him, it will be better if you are safe. I will not have my granddaughter orphaned this night. We've lost too much already."

Tears welled in Fleur's eyes but she did not question her mother-in-law's words. "Send word the moment you know," she said as she readied herself to leave. "Bring him home. Please."

Hermione kissed both of Fleur's cheeks. "We will, ma cherie, we will."

Arthur gave his daughter-in-law a hug before she Apparated away. "Bill has got to be okay," he said once she was gone. "He just has to be."

"He is," Ron said with finality. "I know he is. Because Mum is right. We have already lost too much. Let's go. The sooner we end this, the better for us all."

"I'll call in some Aurors for backup," said Kingsley. "You may need all the help you can get it."

Ron wasn't surprised that none of his family had left with Fleur. He wished he could've convinced Hermione to go with her, but he knew there was no chance of that.

None of his family was going to sit back and wait for word of one their own, it was unthinkable.

Hermione took Ron's hand and squeezed as they prepared to go. Whatever it was, whatever they had to confront, they would do it together.

Ron had never much liked the feeling of Apparating. He thought maybe it had something to do with his nasty splinch. But even before that, it had never been his favorite way of transportation. Give him a broom any day.

But stealth was the name of this particular game, so it was Molly that decided that they would Apparate to the back of the Prewett family cemetery.

It would give them good cover, and everyone seemed to know not to question any of Molly's orders at that moment.

The family joined hands and quickly swooshed away.

The dark graveyard filled with tall, graying stones did give them a lot of cover. Ron knew the Aurors would be instructed to surround the house and wait for his signal. He didn't hear anyone else Apparating but he knew they would not be far behind.

"We should wait for the other Aurors," Ron told his mother.

"The hell with waiting, Ron," Charlie said with a scoff. "Let's get Bill out of there."

"We don't know that he's here," Hermione pointed out.

"Oh please, Hermione," Percy said sounding just like Hermione's favorite Weasley. "If Bill saw those records in Gringotts, this is the first place he would've come."

No one argued that point and as they approached the imposing house that loomed in the distance, they all turned to Molly. But she seemed transfixed, eyes focused on something in the distance.

Ron followed her gaze and that was when he noticed a light in one of the windows of the house. Someone was there. Someone had stolen his mother's house. He didn't want to believe it.

"Mum," whispered Charlie. "Where should we go?"

Molly took a long breath before she answered. "There's a door on the west side of the house. It leads straight to my father's study. He was the only one that would use it."

"All right," Ron said. "Wands up everyone. Mum, lead the way. I'm right behind you. 'Mione, Ginny, get between me and Percy. Dad, you next. Charlie, watch our backs. We don't know what we're walking into, but we've got to be prepared for anything."

The family crouched in the darkness and quickly made their way to the west side of the home. Molly moved very steadily as if she could never get lost on that estate.

She stopped suddenly and Ron nearly toppled over. "Here," she said as she reached for a doorknob uncertainly, doubting it would open. But it did.

"Oh Merlin," she said softly. "I can't believe it."

"We'll get it back for you, Mum," Ron said. "Let's just get Bill first."

They entered the house and Molly lit a Bluebell to guide them up the spiral, stone staircase. Ron looked around, keeping his eyes and ear open for any sound. He didn't know who or what was also in the house.

"I doubt anyone will be this far down, Ron. The only thing that's down here is the dungeon," said Arthur in a whisper.

Ron nodded, but he stood his ground. Constant Vigilance. They made their way up the staircase, careful to make as little noise as possible.

Finally, they reached the top. Molly hesitated when she was at the door as she saw a thin strip of light peaking from out the edge of it. Was someone in her father's study?

Ron gripped his wand tighter, prepared to Stupefy whoever he needed to.

"Go on, Mum," he said with a whisper. "I'm right here."

Molly nodded and opened the door.

At first, it seemed empty. Ron, who had no memories of the place, was very impressed at the size of the study.

He was busy taking in the room when he heard his mother gasp.

There was someone in the room, someone who had been standing by the fireplace with his back turned to them. It was clearly a man, dressed in a long, hooded grey robe.

They all lifted up their wands and prepared to strike. "Who the hell are you?" Charlie barked.

The man in the robe turned around slowly and wordlessly.

Molly's wand clattered to the floor as one word left her lips in a shocked and dismayed gasp "Gideon?!"

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