H-el-lo!

I am proud to present the sequel to Real. Its name? Time. And, as you have guessed, it's set during Deathly Hallows. So, shall we continue?

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything, except Mia- who belongs to me

Chapter 1: Blood and Firewhiskey

"And, if all goes well, we'll all meet back here tonight," Mad-Eye Moody said gruffly, leaning on his staff. He looked around at all of them, standing in the small living room of the Burrow. Moody was in the centre, with Kingsley Shacklebolt a few feet away. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were standing solemnly by the sofa. Bill stood with his arm around Fleur Delacour, his soon-to-be-wife. Ginny stood alone, her eyes staring at nothing in particular, but listening to every single word. Hagrid was hunched by the kitchen door, his beard obscuring the slight frown. Molly and Arthur Weasley stood together, with Molly looking around at all of her children. Tonks was leaning against the arm of the sofa, twirling her new wedding ring around and around on her finger, while Remus Lupin stood with his hand on her shoulder. Mundungus Fletcher was skulking in a shadowy corner. George Weasley stood with his arms wrapped around Mia Homing- who was in front of him- with his twin, Fred, next to them.

"We leave in five minutes," Moody said, after a minute of silence. Today was the day they were going to get Harry Potter from the Dursley's- though Mia, Ginny and Molly were staying behind. There was a slight murmuring as people spoke to each other before leaving. Fred eyed Mia and George for a second. She was staring down at the floor, her mousy brown hair hanging around her face, while George just stood with his arms interlocked tightly around her.

"I think I'll, um, go and say bye to Ginny," Fred muttered, before making his way across the room. Sighing, Mia turned around slowly, and ran her hands up George's arms until they came to rest on his shoulders. She locked eyes with him sadly and he smiled at her.

"We'll be fine," he told her. She licked her lips and nodded, "'Sides," he carried on, "if anything does happen, we've got you're amazing Healing skills to help us out." she quirked a small smile and looked to the table in one of the corners. For the past month she'd been making every kind of Healing potion she could think of. Just in case. She was the Order of the Phoenix's own Healer.

"I'm hoping we won't need them," she said quietly. George brought a hand up to cup her cheek.

"We won't," he confirmed. She shook her head slowly.

"Now you're just tempting fate," she told him. A slightly confused look slid over his face.

"I'm doing what now?" Mia let a short laugh escape her.

"Its just a Muggle expression." George rolled his eyes, before kissing her forehead softly. Her eyelids fluttered for a second as he pulled back.

"We'll be fine," he told her again. She didn't answer him. Like she said- tempting fate.

They felt a pair of eyes on them, and looked up to see Fred leaning against the table, his arms crossed. Mia detached herself from George and walked over to him, hugging him tightly. Over his shoulder, she could see Molly and Arthur saying goodbye, and Ginny talking to Bill. They'd planned so much, but it was still very possible something could go wrong. When Mia pulled back, she looked Fred in the eye.

"Don't do anything stupid," she told him. He smirked a bit.

"I won't."

"And… don't annoy Moody."

"I won't."

"And be careful."

"You know what?" Fred said, "I'll do all of that as long as you promise not t turn into my mother." Mia smiled and raised her eyebrows.

"Deal," she said, as George walked over to them.

"Right!" Moody barked, "we need to leave." George took Mia's hand as everyone made their way outside, where a large black motorbike, and- even though she couldn't see them, she knew they were there- two Thestrals stood. Half of the people going grabbed a broom as they left the house.

Hagrid sat on the bike as Hermione, Kingsley, Fleur and Bill climbed onto the Thestrals. George squeezed Mia's hand before he lined up and mounted his broom, and Fred passed his hand over her shoulder briefly.

"Ready?" Moody called from a broom in the middle of the line, "three," he took hold of his broom handle with one hand, "two," and grasped Mundungus' arm with the other, to make sure he actually left, "one," everyone tensed, "now!" the two Thestrals soared into the sky, Hagrid's motorbike roared and followed them, and everyone on a broom kicked off. Mia swore she saw one of the twins do a loop-de-loop, and she smiled briefly.

They weren't sure how long they stood there, but Ginny was the first to turn and walk back to the house. Mia followed a minute afterwards, and sat down on a coffee table in a corner of the room, next to her box of potions. Molly came in about ten minutes after Mia, and her eyes went straight to the clock that had the family's names on the hands and pointed to where they were at the time. Mia and Ginny followed her gaze. Every hand was on 'Mortal Peril', just like they had been since the previous year.

Time passed slowly. Ginny was the only one wearing a watch, and she announced the time every half hour. But that was the only time anyone spoke. Ginny sat on the sofa, with her legs crossed and a book in her lap. Not that she was reading it- she stared out of the window, at the sky. Molly took to wiping down the already shining counters and tables for a while, but abandoned the cloth on one of the smaller coffee tables when she thought she heard something outside. It turned out to be two gnomes fighting. Mia concentrated on her feet kicking forward and backward.

Suddenly, Ginny lurched off the sofa, and flew across to the back door. Looking out of the window, Mia caught a glimpse of a blue light spinning to the ground. Molly had seen it to, and together, they ran out into the garden. They saw Ginny crouching a few feet away, holding something. "They missed it," she said as the two other women approached. "Ron and Tonks… they missed it." Molly's hand flew to her mouth and Mia licked her lips.

"Maybe…" she said, "maybe it just took a little longer then we thought for them to get there." Molly nodded shakily.

"Yes," she said, lowering her hand, "yes that must be it." Ginny dropped the rusty oil can back on the ground and they made their way back to the house, and back to where they were before. Ginny on the sofa, Mia on the coffee, Molly in the kitchen.

The time started to go even slower. The seconds ticked by in Mia's head, and different reasons as to why Ron and Tonks hadn't gotten back flowed through her mind. Did it really take longer then excepted to get to Muriel's? Or did something else happen?

Outside, there was another flash of blue light. Again, they all rushed outside, only to see an old trainer slamming to the ground- without Arthur and Fred. Mia pressed her lips together and closed her eyes. Two more people who weren't back. They re-entered the house. Something must have gone wrong… two people in a row couldn't have missed their Portkey by chance. Mia shook her head. Stay positive, she thought. Easier said then done.

Again, the seconds passed. One. At. A. Time. Mia curled up on the sofa next to Ginny, and joined her in staring out of the window. Harry was due back next, with Hagrid. Harry… the whole reason they had gone.

Tick… tick… tick… went Ginny's watch. Mia was closer now, so she could hear it. Ticks… tick… tick…

"That's him," Ginny suddenly murmured, getting off the sofa. Mia and Molly saw the third circle of blue light. When they got to the door, Molly shrieked in relief and happiness. Hagrid and Harry were swaying on the spot, both clutching a hairbrush. Mia, Ginny and lurched themselves at them.

"Harry? You are the real Harry?" Molly yelled, "What happened? Where are the others?"

"What d'you mean? Isn't anyone else back?" Harry asked. Molly, Ginny and Mia didn't answer. "The Death Eaters were waiting for us," Harry explained, Mia's eyes grew wider then they usually were, "We were surrounded the moment we took off- they knew it was tonight- I don't know what happened to anyone else, four of them chased us, it was all we could do to get away, and then Voldemort caught up with us-"

"Thank goodness you're all right," Molly cut him off, flinging her arms around him.

"Haven't go' any brandy, have yeh, Molly? Fer medicinal purposes?" Hagrid asked as Molly let Harry go. Mia looked up at him with a slight frown, but reckoned that brandy would help him a bit more then her small amount of potions. Molly ran into the house as Harry looked at Mia and Ginny.

"Ron and Tonks should have been back first, but they missed their Portkey, it came back without them," Ginny told him, "And that one should have been Dad and Fred's; they were supposed to be second. You and Hagrid were third and," she then looked at her watch, "if they made it, George and Lupin aught to be back in about a minute." Molly came up uncorking a bottle of brandy, and handed it to Hagrid.

"Mum!" Ginny suddenly yelled, pointing to the fourth blue light. George and Lupin appeared as they fell to the ground, but Mia's relieved feeling evaporated as soon as it had appeared. George was unconscious and his face and neck was drenched in bright, scarlet blood. She stood there, shocked for a minute as Harry ran forward to grab George's legs and help Lupin carry him into the house. Then her Healer side kicked in and she ran after them.

Lupin and Harry settled George down onto the sofa and the light fell over his face. Mia slid passed everyone and turned George's head ever-so-slightly, the blood instantly staining her skin. Her breath stopped for a second. His ear was gone.

She vaguely registered Lupin dragging Harry put of the room, and Hagrid shouting in the background, but only vaguely. Mia straightened up and pushed passed Ginny and Molly, briskly saying, "try and clean the blood up." Molly nodded and took her wand out as Mia made her way to the small box of potions, running her fingers over the tops. It took her a second before she just picked up the entire box and made her way back over to the sofa.

Most of the blood had been cleared away from his skin, but it still demanded his clothes. Mia's skin paled, she could now see the empty hole. Although it was clean, it was still bleeding. Mia pulled her own wand out of her pocket and hovered it over the hole, muttering something. It still bled. She paused for a second in shock- that should've worked! She tried again, but it still carried on bleeding.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.

"It… it… wait a second," Mia replied. She tried several other spells, and finally, the bleeding stopped. She licked her lips before taking a gentle hold on George's face, tilting it so she could see the wound even better.

Leaning back, she picked a pot from the box. She'd put the potions into anything she could find: proper potion vials, jam hats, dented metal tins. She took the lid off and wiped her fingers over her jeans quickly- leaving a smear of blood. She dipped her now- relatively- clean fingers into the pot and coated them in the thin, but gloopy purplish liquid. She ran it around the edge of the hole.

"Ok," she muttered, licking her lips, "that should close off any infection." It was more for her own benefit then anyone else's. "now I need to regrow it… regrow it…" she looked up at Molly and Ginny, "how do I do that…"

"Do you know how to?" Ginny asked. Mia nodded.

"Should do," she replied shakily. She jabbed her wand at the wound, muttering a rather long spell. Again, nothing happened. She breathed out heavily. That didn't necessarily mean anything- she was in Creature-Induced Injuries, after all, not regrowing body parts. She tried again. And again. And again.

With her eyes now as wide as the moon, and her skin just as pale, she inspecting the wound again. Her teeth clenched together and she looked up at Molly and Ginny, panicked.

"What?" Ginny asked. Mia shook her head slowly. Molly knelt down next to her.

"It… its been cursed off… by Dark Magic… I can't regrow it!" Molly's eyes flickered from Mia, to George, and back to Mia. Mia just started at the carpet.

"How is he?" they heard suddenly. Harry had walked back into the living room. Molly looked up at him, and Mia moved her eyes to George's face and, even though she knew it wouldn't work, she tried the spell again.

Molly looked at Mia fro a second as she tried again, then answered Harry with "We can't make it grow back, not when it's been removed by Dark Magic. But it could've been so much worse . . . . He's alive." Good point, ran through Mia's mind. Somewhere deep in the back of it.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Thank God."

"Did I hear someone else in the yard?" Ginny asked. Mia looked up very quickly. She hadn't.

"Hermione and Kingsley," Harry replied. A drop of relief made its way through her.

"Thank goodness," Ginny whispered.

"Are they injured in any way?" Mia asked, her voice flat.

"No," Harry replied. Mia nodded, then tried the spell again. She dropped her wand on the floor and pulled the box of potions roughly towards her. She pulled out potion after potion. Maybe she'd made something that could help? But she hadn't. And she knew that. There was nothing that could help.

There was a crash from the kitchen.

"I'll prove who I am, Kingsley, after I've seen my son, now back off if you know what's good for you!" Mia's head shot up. that was Mr Weasley. Sure enough, Arthur and Fred came stumbling into the room.

"Arthur!" Molly flew at him, "Oh thank goodness!"

"How is he?" he asked.

Mia locked eyes with Fred as he hung over the back of the sofa. Her eyes were glazed with a thin line of tears. "I've tried everything," she promised, "nothing is working."

George stirred. Everyone's heads snapped down to look at him.

"How do you feel, Georgie?" Molly asked, very quietly. George brought one of his hands up to the wound.

"Saintlike," he muttered. Mia clenched one of the potions she was holding even harder.

"What's wrong with him?" Fred asked, going even paler then Mia. "Is his mind affected?"

"It… it shouldn't be," she replied.

"Saintlike," George's eyes flickered open, "You see. . . I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?"

Colour rushed up into Fred's face. Molly's sobs got louder. Mia dropped the potion she was holding, and the metal tin it was in cluttered to the floor.

"Pathetic," Fred said, "Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humour before you, you go for holey?" Mia started shaking her head as George shrugged a little.

"Ah well," he replied, then looked at Molly, "You'll be able to tell us apart now, anyway, Mum." He looked around at them all and his eyes fell on Mia, who was still shaking her head slightly. He smiled tentatively at her, and, after a second, she returned a rather sad one. George's eyes moved on and landed on Harry.

"Hi, Harry- you are Harry, right?" he asked, squinting a little.

"Yeah, I am," Harry replied, walking a little closer.

"Well, at least we got you back okay. Why aren't Ron and Bill huddled round my sickbed?" George looked around again.

"They're not back yet, George," Molly replied softly. Sighing, Mia turned back to her box of potions and picked up the metal tin she'd dropped earlier. She registered Harry and Ginny leaving the room, talking quietly. She slid out a glass bottle and handed it George.

"Blood-Replenishing Potion," she told him. He looked at the liquid for a minute before Mia said; "drink it," blankly. A few more minutes passed before Ginny came running into the room.

"Ron and Tonks," she panted, "their back!"

"Oh!" Molly gasped, and, sending one last look at George, ran outside, Arthur following her.

"They ok?" Mia asked Ginny, who nodded.

"They're alright, not injured."

"Ok," Mia replied, before looking through her box again. Ginny left and Mia looked up at Fred and George, licking her lips. "I'm really sorry," she told them.

"What for?" George said, trying to sit up. He grimaced and Mia reached up to his shoulder and pushed him back down softly. She shrugged, and looked at Fred.

"I can't grow it back," she answered, gesturing to George's head, "I… nothing can," her arms fell uselessly to her sides.

"Oi," George said softly, leaning down and taking her hand. She looked up at him, "I'm fine."

"You haven't got an ear, George," Fred reminded him.

"Yeah, ok, apart from that," George said, offhandedly.

"That's a pretty big thing," Mia told him, pushing herself up and sitting of the edge of the sofa. "You told me you'd be fine," she said.

"I am," George insisted.

"You haven't got an ear," she repeated, as it talking to a small child.

"Alright, alright," Fred butted in, "he may have lost an ear, but I don't think that means he's suddenly become stupid!" Mia's lip quirked.

"Become?" she asked, her smile growing.

"Ok then, I don't think that makes him even more stupid," Fred replied. Mia giggled a bit.

"Oi!" George said, indignantly. Mia pressed her lips together, along with Fred, but the laughter still bubbled out.

Then everyone else walked in, all looking very sombre

"What's wrong?" Fred asked the shadow of a smile still on his lips, "What's happened? Who's-?"

"Mad-Eye. Dead," Arthur said. Mia, George and Fred's smiles fell completely. Dead? Mia thought. It was a shock… with all his scars and everything; she'd always guessed nothing could kill him…

From the other side of the room, Bill took out a bottle of firewhiskey and poured it into glasses. "Here," he said, and sent the glasses floating across the them. "Mad-Eye," he said, holding his glass up.

"Mad-Eye," echoed around the room, with Hagrid saying it a second late. Mia tossed the glass back and downed about half of it, feeling it burn as it went down.

"So Mundungus disappeared?" Lupin asked. Everyone looked at him.

"I know what you're thinking," said Bill, "and I wondered that too, on the way back here, because they seemed to be expecting us, didn't they? But Mundungus can't have betrayed us. They didn't know there would be seven Harrys, that confused them the moment we appeared, and in case you've forgotten, it was Mundungus who suggested that little bit of skulduggery." He has a point there, Mia thought, taking another sip from her glass, "Why wouldn't he have told them the essential point?" Bill carried on, "I think Dung panicked, it's as simple as that. He didn't want to come in the first place, but Mad-Eye made him, and You-Know-Who went straight for them. It was enough to make anyone panic."

"You-Know-Who acted exactly as Mad-Eye expected him to," Tonks said, with a morose tone. "Mad-Eye said he'd expect the real Harry to be with the toughest, most skilled Aurors. He chased Mad-Eye first, and when Mundungus gave them away he switched to Kingsley…" she trailed off.

"Yes, and zat eez all very good, but still eet does not explain 'ow zey know we were moving 'Arry tonight, does eet?" Fleur said harshly, "Somebody must 'ave been careless. Somebody let slip ze date to an outsider. It is ze only explanation for zem knowing ze date but not ze 'ole plan." It was silent for a moment, and Fleur looked around at them all.

"No," Harry said, breaking the silence. Mia looked up at him, knitting her eyebrows together as he explained. "I mean . . . if somebody made a mistake… and let something slip, I know they didn't mean to do it. It's not their fault. We've got to trust each other. I trust all of you, I don't think anyone in this room would ever sell me to Voldemort." Nobody answered him, and he put his glass to his lips nervously.

"Well said, Harry," Fred came out with.

"Year, 'ear, 'ear," George added, and Mia rolled her eyes, taking another gulp of her firewhiskey and finishing it off.

"You think I'm a fool?" Harry asked, looking at Lupin.

"No," Lupin replied, slightly sadly, "I think you're like James- who would have regarded it as the height of dishonour to mistrust his friends." it was quiet for a other second, then Lupin looked at Bill, saying, "There's work to do. I can ask Kingsley whether-"

"No," Bill replied, "I'll do it, I'll come."

"Where are you going?" said Tonks and Fleur together.

"Mad-Eye's body- we need to recover it." Lupin explained.

"Can't it-?"

"Wait?" Bill cut his mother off, "Not unless you'd rather the Death Eaters took it?" nobody said anything, so he and Lupin left, and everybody except for Harry sat down.

"I've got to go too," he said. And, again, everyone looked at him.

"Don't be silly, Harry," Molly said, "What are you talking about?"

"I can't stay here," he replied, massaging his head, "You're all in danger while I'm here. I don't want –"

"But don't be so silly! The whole point of tonight was to get you here safely, and thank goodness it worked. And Fleur's agreed to get married here rather than in France, we've arranged everything so that we can all stay together and look after you!" Molly explained.

"If Voldemort finds out I'm here-"

"But why should he?"

"There are a dozen places you might be now, Harry," Arthur said calmly, "He's got no way of knowing which safe house you're in."

"It's not me I'm worried for!" Harry nearly yelled

"We know that, but it would make our efforts tonight seem rather pointless if you left."

"Yer not goin' anywhere," Hagrid growled, "Blimey, Harry, after all we wen' through ter get you here?"

"Yeah, what about my bleeding ear?" George added, pushing himself up on the cushions. Mia went to push him back down, but he batted her hand away.

"I know that-" Harry started

"Mad-Eye wouldn't want-"

"I KNOW!" Harry yelled. A few people winced at the level of his voice. His glare disappeared as everyone looked at him, awkwardness hanging in the air around them.

"Where's Hedwig, Harry?" Molly asked softly, "We can put her up with Pidwidgeon and give her something to eat." Harry looked up slowly, and didn't answer.

"Wait till it gets out yeh did it again, Harry!" Hagrid suddenly boomed, "Escaped him, fought him off when he was right on top of yeh!"

"It wasn't me- it was my wand. My wand acted of its own accord." Harry replied. Mia looked at him- along with everyone else- taken aback. A wand couldn't do magic of its own accord! Even Mia knew that.

Shaking her head, Hermione said, "but that's impossible, Harry. You mean that you did magic without meaning to; you reacted instinctively." Her hands were out in front of her, as if acting out the situation. This time, Harry shook his head.

"No," he replied, "The bike was falling, I couldn't have told you where Voldemort was, but my wand spun in my hand and found him and shot a spell at him, and it wasn't even a spell I recognized. I've never made gold flames appear before."

"Gold flames?" Mia asked. Harry glanced at her for a second, before looking back to Arthur, who had just opened his mouth.

"Often, when you're in a pressured situation you can produce magic you never dreamed of. Small children often find, before they're trained-"

"It wasn't like that," Harry replied stiffly. Everyone was still looking at him, trying to find a way of convincing him. "I need some air," he muttered, before leaving the room.

Whoa, pretty long chapter- for me, anyway. So… I hope it was ok…

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