Harry, Ron, and Xenophilius Lovegood stood on the riverbank with their wands in hand while Luna and Hermione hurried to pack away the tent. The first lights of morning pierced the sky above the giant trees surrounding them. The forest was deathly quiet, birds and animals having not awoken yet. Droplets of dew covered the long blades of grass and tufts of moss around them, reminding Harry of Cove Cottage.

Harry desperately wished he could return to the peaceful life he’d made for himself there. He wanted more of that summer filled with reading, homework, flying, and talking with Saturnine about magic, spells, cooking, and becoming an adult and learning to let go of the past and pain—of being normal.

Harry regretted having had to leave without saying goodbye and hoped against all hope that he would get to see Saturnine again. He wanted to apologise for having had to break the rules and thank her for the kindness she’d shown to him.

A series of loud cracks reverberated in the quiet forest, the tell-tale sounds of wizards Apparating nearby, and Harry gripped at his wand tighter. He could have used his cloak again, but it wasn’t large enough to hide them all, and there was no way he would hide while his friends were used for target practice.

“They’re coming,” Harry muttered as he anchored his feet, assuming a battle stance.

A snarl that was more beast than human pierced through the foliage on their left, and branches cracked as their opponents grew nearer. The first hex missed Ron by inches, flying past his left ear, leaving behind a streak of red light.

Mr Lovegood wasted no time throwing back a loud, “Bombarda!” in the direction from which the hex had come. Tree trunks exploded under the impact, and the fight broke out in earnest.

Half a dozen hooded, masked Death Eaters emerged from the forest, charging at them, wands at the ready. Leading the pack was the stout wizard Harry had seen before, Fenrir Greyback. Now that he stood in broad daylight, Harry saw that very little of him remained human.

“Baubillious!” shouted Ron, and a bright yellow-white bolt of lightning shot from the tip of his wand towards the two Death Eaters on the far left of the group.

Lowering his wand at the werewolf’s feet, Harry shouted, “Incendio!” A burst of flames shot from his wand to light the broken branches and dead leaves that separated their group from its attackers.

“You’ll have to do better than that to stop us, boy,” Greyback sneered, and Harry caught a glimpse of his pointed, yellow teeth.

Behind him, the young wizard heard Hermione mutter sotto-voce, “Fumos.” A defensive cloud of smoke swirled forward. It seemed to have a will of its own as it grew thicker the further it advanced. Pretty soon, Harry could only barely make out the shape of Ron standing by his side. The rest of the forest was coated in a thick greyish mist.

“If you think that’ll stop us,” snarled Greyback, “that’s pathetic, children.”

Harry felt rather than saw Hermione move closer. “I won’t be able to hold it up much longer,” she said, her voice sounding strained. “We need help.”

“How—” Harry started, but before he had the time to finish his sentence, several loud cracks echoed on their left. More wizards had just Apparated into the mist; the Death Eaters had gotten reinforcements.

***

Saturnine felt like she had just Apparated in a fog bank on a pale winter morning along the Thames River. Recognising a Fog Charm when she saw one, she froze where she stood. They couldn’t attack without knowing where the children were—and who else was there.

Her instincts screamed at her to use Air Magic to dispel the fog, but she fought against them. If the kids were under attack, that thick bank of fog was probably the only thing keeping them alive at the moment. She couldn’t risk disrupting it without knowing more about the situation first.

“Spread out,” she muttered through clenched teeth to the fellow Order of the Phoenix members that Apparated alongside her. “Don’t attack until we know what’s going on.”

She heard Remus and Tonks hum in agreement and the faint rustle of leaves as they stepped away, each in a different direction.

She had barely gone three steps when someone screamed a little ahead of her. It was a high-pitched scream from a young girl’s throat. Hermione Granger or the Lovegood girl, her mind supplied, and she knew they’d run out of time; the moment for discretion had passed. Reaching deep inside, she located her magic and channelled it through her entire being. Extending her arms ahead of her, palms outstretched, she let the Elemental power course through her and out. And the air around her sang along with her magic. A small vortex started to pool between her raised arms, and she watched as it grew to become taller than she was. When it reached the clear sky above, she pushed it forward, and it swirled on itself, trapping the misty layers in its twirling core. The scenery cleared as the small tornado pushed forward before disappearing into nothingness over the rolling river.

Fighting resumed the instant the tornado had passed, and she barely ducked in time to avoid a spell thrown her way. Rolling on the ground to avoid a second hit, she reached for her wand and threw a wandless Slicing Charm towards her attacker. Whoever stood beneath that Death Eater mask let out a pained scream before Apparating away. Coward! she thought, getting back to her feet. I hope you splinch yourself on your way back.

A little way ahead, she saw that Tonks was relentlessly throwing hex after hex next to Harry, Ron, and Luna’s father. Half a dozen Death Eaters faced them, but the small group seemed to hold its own.

Casting her gaze further ahead, she looked for Remus and the missing girls, and what she found froze her blood in fear. She found her friend near the riverbank, wand drawn as he faced a tall, burly man with long hair. And between the two, caught in the stout wizard’s strong hands, was Hermione Granger, face white with fear.

Knowing that Remus couldn’t attack the wizard without risking injuring Hermione, Saturnine wasted no time standing up and heading his way. She had but a split second to make a decision, and she cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself, even as she ran forward. Knowing she would only have one chance to succeed, she focused all her attention on her target as she aimed her wand. The charm she’d used to make herself invisible would shatter the instant she cast her next curse, and she couldn’t risk hitting Hermione in the crossfire. Her aim had to be perfect.

Steadying her feet and taking a much-practised stance, Saturnine raised her wand-hand and relaxed her wrist as she readied herself to say the words. Taking a deep breath to centre herself, she fixed her gaze on her target and shouted, “Crucio!”

The Death Eater was lifted off his feet, letting go of Hermione at once. He writhed through the air like a drowning man, thrashing and howling in pain, and then lurched backwards until he splashed into the murky river.

The young, bushy-haired witch fell to her knees, and Remus was by her side in an instant. Emerging from a nearby bush, a young girl with long blond hair was by them a moment later.

“Get them to Grimmauld, Remus,” Saturnine instructed before turning on her heel.

She didn’t wait to see if Remus would obey, her focus latching onto the fight that lay ahead of her. Some of the Death Eaters had defected, but four of them still stood facing off the group lead by a very disgruntled Tonks. Saturnine charged forward, joining the fray.

Her first attack was a wandless, nonverbal spell, and she took a bit of pride in its strength. The masked Death Eater facing her was sent flying backwards as if he’d been gut-punched by a gorilla. Now, more than ever, she firmly believed that students had to learn not to rely so much on their wands. Pureblood wizards and their old ways were so predictable in a duel. The ability to think outside the box was such a considerable advantage that it could do more than merely even the odds.

The wizard standing next to the one she’d knocked out retaliated for his friend so quickly that she had no time to call forth a protective shield. Instead, she threw herself to the ground, rolled forward to avoid the blow, and mere seconds later, she sprung back to her feet, wand in hand. A nonverbal “Bombarda,” went flying out of the tip of her wand with a flash of colour. It hit its target squarely.

Taking advantage of her proximity to the enemy and her stance, which was more of a crouch than anything, Saturnine forced all of her weight on her left leg as she used her right to kick at the next Death Eater in line.

The wizard fell to his knees in a flurry of black robes, a yelp of pain escaping his masked mouth. Saturnine gave him no time to recover. Bringing herself back to a full standing position, she took another step forward and followed her kick with a second one that knocked the wind out of the man’s sails. A nonverbal Ensnaring Charm tied itself around his legs and torso an instant later.

Needing to catch her breath, Saturnine put a little distance between herself and their attackers, regrouping with Tonks and the boys. Since she had last laid eyes on him, Ron had been hit with a slicing hex, and his forearm was bleeding. The cut didn’t seem life-threatening, though, and it didn’t seem to hinder the ginger-haired boy, who was throwing curses with a vengeance.

Looking at Harry next, she saw that he was unarmed, albeit red-cheeked and covered with sweat. She moved closer to him, her peripheral vision keeping track of the dwindling group of Death Eaters still facing them. She saw the hex before the black-robed wizard finished casting the spell. Saturnine had read his intent in his eyes and recognised the flick of his wrist. As she looked on, she saw that Harry’s attention was completely focused on his wounded friend, and her feet started to move before her mind had the time to fully form the thought. She barrelled into Harry from the side, pushing him away even as the curse ripped through the air. Her next thought was to cast a Shielding Charm, and she hurried to think up the incantation. Her nerves were set alight by the Cruciatus Curse before she had the time to complete the thought, and she fell to the floor like a beanbag.

For a moment, nothing existed besides the pain. It was all-consuming, white-hot knives piercing every inch of her skin, her head feeling as if it were about to burst with pain. A scream tore through her throat as she sank into the wet ground. And just as quickly as it had come, it disappeared. Her bones still screamed in pain from the fire that had coursed through them, but she could open her eyes again. She drew in a shuddering breath as her hand searched for the wand that had slipped through her fingers.

Her first thought was of Harry, and she searched for him. She found him by her side, one of his hands around her shoulder as he helped her up. She was glad for his strength; she couldn’t have held herself upright of her own volition at the moment. Harry looked torn up with worry and a little banged up, but there was no severe injury in sight, and Saturnine exhaled a relieved breath.

“Are you all right, lad?” she managed to say through teeth that clattered from the curse’s aftereffect. At Harry’s nod, she said, “Help me up.”

He obeyed, pulling her up by the arm and taking most of her weight. Although she would rather have stayed curled up in a lump on the floor to sleep the day off, Saturnine knew the fight wasn’t over, and she had a duty to stand and protect Harry.

Sweet Circe, who was she kidding? She didn’t jump in front of an Unforgivable Curse to protect him out of a sense of duty; it was something that ran far more deeply than that—something much more primal.